Literature and tolerance in the Victorian era

The research being carried out by Dr. Nina Engelhardt fills a gap in our understanding of tolerance as well as in (cognitive) literature, and her project has led to her being included in the Baden-Württemberg Foundation's Elite Program for postdocs. In public discourse, the word "tolerance" is often defined as respect, acceptance and recognition of other cultures. Though in actual fact, the term comes from the Latin word "tolerare", which means "to suffer" or to put up with something. Dr. Nina Engelhardt from the Institute of Literary Studies of the University of Stuttgart explores this issue in her research, and investigates the role of literary fiction in expanding the concept of tolerance. As a part of the Elite Program for postdocs run by the Baden-Württemberg Foundation, she was eligible for funding for her project. Her objective is to investigate the subject of tolerance in literature and the literary strategies used in visualizing the emotional, cognitive and physically crippling 'suffering' in the process of tolerance, as well as to define the role of literature in discourse on tolerance. Her research focuses on British literature in the 19th century.