Preface and Acknowledgements
The present study is the revised version of my PhD thesis, which was accepted by the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Tübingen in 2020. For all the guidance, support, and help which I have received over the past years I want to thank the following people and institutions:
I am deeply indebted to Professor Robert Kirstein (Tübingen) who supported and encouraged me with great interest, brilliant ideas, and honest enthusiasm over the past years. His deep methodological knowledge and his motivating approach to my project made him an ideal supervisor on whom I could rely at all times. I am equally grateful to Professor Irene de Jong (Amsterdam) for her invaluable feedback and academic encouragement, not only back in 2019 when she welcomed me in Amsterdam. Special thanks go to Professor Micha Meier (Tübingen) and Michiel van der Keur for their great feedback and patience. The project would not have been possible without the financial support of the Research Training Group 1808 âAmbiguityâProduction and Perceptionâ (DFG project number 198647426). Together with the Tübingen Working Group âNarrative Dynamics in Latin Literatureâ the RTG has provided a most stimulating academic framework for the project. In addition, I would like to thank my colleagues Simon Grund and Julian Wagner, above all. But also Hans Peter Nill, Anna Schwetz, Christian Stegemann-Philipps, Dominik Wabersich, Aurelia Gumz, Andreas Abele, Sonja Borchers, Sofiya Kartalova, Curtis Runstedler, Christian Schweizer, Miriam Lahrsow, Inken Armbrust, Lisa Ebert, Elias Güthlein, and Florian Rohmann with whom I could discuss any issues concerning my project and who offered their editing help, late night feedback sessions, and moral assistance. I am also indebted to the supervisors in the RTG 1808, especially Professor Matthias Bauer, Professor Angelika Zirker, Professor Susanne Winkler, and Professor Joachim Knape who generously provided knowledge and experience and were highly committed to promoting my project at all times.
Finally, I want to thank my parents Eva-Maria and Werner, my sister Christine, and my friends (especially Anna, Lisa, Thekla, Ulrike, Adrian, and Bernadette) who always had an open ear for my concerns and encouraged me to keep my spirits and motivation high. I am grateful to my husband Anselm and my daughter Marie. They grounded me in times when I run the risk of losing me in the depths of ambiguity.