P01 – Theoretical Task Force
Project description
This subproject coordinates the activities of the SFB and hosts two affiliated PhD projects funded by the University of Graz.
The coordination of the project carried out the following tasks since March 2025:
- Organized an SFB-related conference “Referential Expressions in Discourse: Mismatches in Anaphoric Relations” (29-30 May 2025) in cooperation with Klaus von Heusinger and members of the RED network with invited speakers Hans Kamp, Viola Schmitt (MIT), and Daniel Altshuler (Oxford). All subprojects submitted their work to the conference. Proceedings are currently in the process of being edited (under a series launched through the University of Graz Library Publishing).
- Secured funding for an affiliated project (“Philosophical implications of binding effects”) from Land Steiermark to fund one postdoctoral researcher to work with Edgar Onea and Katharina Felka. The recruited researcher is Jeannique Darby (employment start date 1 November 2025).
- Organized a careers workshop for female early-stage researchers in the SFB (13 February 2026), led by guest speaker Professor Dr. Esther Rinke (Frankfurt).
Further general tasks of the coordination unit are:
- Support for dissemination (website, contact point) and open access
- Data management and ethics
- Event organization (retreats, guest speakers, project meetings)
Team
Edgar Onea
Coordinator
University of Graz
Edgar Onea received his doctorate from Heidelberg University in 2005 and is Professor of German Language and Linguistics at the University of Graz. His research focuses on text structure, literary suspense, and political language. Read more
Sarah Melker
Postdoc Researcher
University of Graz
Sarah Melker studied French language and literature at Bryn Mawr College and subsequently completed degrees at Sciences Po and the University of York. Her research focuses on delocutivisation and forensic speech science. Read more
Martina Barili
PhD Student
University of Graz
Martina Barili holds a master’s degree in Language and Mind from the University of Siena. Her research interests include gradability, vagueness, and the development of grammatical models that account for redundancy and deficiency. Read more
Nastaran Divani
PhD Student
University of Graz
Nastaran Divani is researcher at the University of Graz. Her research focuses on the syntax of Kurdish. Drawing mainly on Sanandaji Kurdish, she investigates how clitics interact with verbal agreement, argument structure, and the realization of subjects and objects. Read more