Journal of Dutch Literature

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Johannes Wilhelmus Hendricus Konst
• Subject Area: European and American Literary and Cultural Studies
• Term: from 2014 to 2018
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 254831356

Research on Dutch literature is generally published only in Dutch. Outside the Dutch-speaking world, there is much international interest in this research but, because of language barriers, foreign researchers seldom get to hear about it, let alone access it. Since 2010 the Journal of Dutch Literature, an English-language Open-Access journal, has sought to bridge these gaps and to increase the internationalisation of research on Dutch literature.The journal publishes articles about Dutch literature from the Middle Ages until now. Questions concerning literary phenomena and literary history are treated from a theoretical-methodological and, where possible, interdisciplinary angle. In addition, one of the ambitions of the journal is to analyse Dutch and Flemish literature in an international context. Current discussions amongst researchers in the Netherlands and Flanders, which are internationally important in terms of methodological or thematic approaches, are spread by the journal for the benefit of the international research community. The Journal of Dutch Literature can thus be seen as the meeting point for both Dutch-language and international literary studies and research.The expansion we are seeking now must be seen in the context of an ongoing professionalisation of the journal. It does not only pursue the aim of consolidating more permanently its place in the area of Dutch literary research, but it also aims to reach financial autonomy. In the medium term, the journal will be produced without subsidies from third parties and will be developed as a leading international panel for Dutch literary research. These aims will be achieved in three steps:1. Professionalising the journal and the editorial processes2. Using multimedia formats in the publication process3. Ensuring the ongoing publication of the journalad 1. The electronic support of the journal will be strengthened by implementing the world-leading software for open access journals, the Open Journal System (OJS). The programme will embed the presence of the journal on the internet and will allow all financial aspects to be processed digitally. The transition to this new software will be carried out by the Center for Digital Systems (CeDiS) of the Free University of Berlin.ad 2. In future the journal will not only publish articles but also e.g. (extensive) databases or illustration material, and the articles will be linked to existing websites, such as DBNL and BNTL.ad 3. The Board of Editors favours a gradual implementation of ‘article-processing charges‘ and ‘author fees‘, starting in the third year of funding by the German Science Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft). A phased increase of the charges and fees will be applied in the following five years. The journal will then be able to stand on its own feet.

• DFG Programme: Science Communication, Research Data, eResearch (Scientific Library Services and Information Systems)
• Participating Person: Privatdozentin Dr. Rita Schlusemann