Uwe Wirth (*1963; Prof. Dr.) has since 2007 been Professor of New German Literature and Cultural Science at the Justus-Liebig University, Giessen. From 2005-2007 he was scientific director of the Berlin Centre for Literature and Cultural Research. In 2005 he qualified as a professor in German studies on the topic of Die Geburt des Autors aus dem Geist der Herausgeberfiktion. Editoriale Rahmung im Roman um 1800: Wieland, Goethe, Brentano, Jean Paul und E.T.A. Hoffmann. Previously awarded a doctorate in 1997 on the topic of Diskursive Dummheit. Abduktion und Komik als Grenzphänomene des Verstehens (Winter-Verlag 1999). His main areas of research are sign theory (focused on the concept of trace and Peirce’s concept of abduction); cultural theory (focused on performance theories and the question of a logic of cultural research); paratexts and writing theory (with the emphasis on literature “around 1800”); humour and humour theory; grafting and hybridity as figures of knowledge.