Robert Holub Reception Theory.pdf

Reception Theory: A Critical Introduction by Robert C. Holub

Reception theory is a branch of literary criticism that focuses on the role of the reader in the production of meaning. It originated in Germany in the late 1960s and early 1970s, influenced by the works of Hans-Georg Gadamer, Hans Robert Jauss, and Wolfgang Iser. Reception theory challenges the traditional assumptions that meaning resides in the text or in the author's intention, and argues that meaning is created through the interaction between the text and the reader's historical and cultural context.

Robert C. Holub's book, Reception Theory: A Critical Introduction, published in 1984, is one of the first comprehensive studies of reception theory in English. Holub provides a clear and concise overview of the main concepts, methods, and debates of reception theory, as well as its influences and precursors. He also critically evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of reception theory, and compares it with other reader-oriented approaches, such as reader-response theory and deconstruction.

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The book is divided into five chapters. The first chapter introduces the change in paradigm that reception theory represents, and its socio-historical function. Holub argues that reception theory emerged as a response to the crisis of literary criticism in post-war Germany, which was dominated by positivism and historicism. Reception theory offered a new way of understanding literature as a dynamic and dialogic process, rather than a static and monologic product.

The second chapter discusses the influences and precursors of reception theory, such as Gadamer's hermeneutics, Jauss's aesthetics of reception, and Iser's phenomenology of reading. Holub explains how these thinkers developed a new model of interpretation that takes into account the historical and cultural horizons of both the text and the reader, and how they challenged the notions of objectivity, authority, and universality in literary criticism.

The third chapter presents the major theorists of reception theory, namely Jauss and Iser. Holub analyzes their main contributions to reception theory, such as Jauss's concept of the horizon of expectations, which defines the criteria that readers use to judge a text according to their historical situation; and Iser's concept of the implied reader, which defines the ideal position that a text invites its readers to adopt. Holub also examines their methods of textual analysis, such as Jauss's genre analysis and Iser's gap-filling technique.

The fourth chapter explores alternative models and controversies within reception theory, such as Jurij Lotman's semiotics of culture, Umberto Eco's semiotics of interpretation, Roland Barthes's writerly text, Michel Foucault's author-function, Jacques Derrida's deconstruction, Stanley Fish's interpretive communities, Norman Holland's identity themes, Michael Riffaterre's intertextuality, and Wolfgang Kemp's iconology. Holub compares and contrasts these models with reception theory, and evaluates their advantages and disadvantages.

The fifth chapter concludes the book by summarizing the main achievements and limitations of reception theory. Holub argues that reception theory has opened up new possibilities for literary criticism by emphasizing the role of the reader, the historical dimension of literature, and the plurality of meanings. However, he also points out some problems and challenges that reception theory faces, such as its lack of empirical evidence, its difficulty in accounting for individual differences among readers, its tendency to neglect the material aspects of texts, and its vulnerability to subjectivism and relativism.

Reception Theory: A Critical Introduction by Robert C. Holub is a valuable resource for anyone interested in learning more about reception theory and its implications for literary criticism. It offers a clear and concise introduction to the main concepts, methods, and debates of reception theory, as well as a critical evaluation of its strengths and weaknesses. It also provides a useful comparison with other reader-oriented approaches, and situates reception theory within its historical and cultural context.

The book can be accessed online from various sources , or downloaded as a PDF file.

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