Redefining reading: The reader in contemporary literary theory

This study is an inquiry into the reading of literary texts through a critical survey of contemporary literary theory. Historically, literary studies have not paid serious or prolonged attention to the role of the reader. Furthermore, literary education has been profoundly influenced by a pragmatic view of literature, evident in the Arnoldian humanist approach aimed at acculturation, and in "back-to-basics" methodologies of reading that emphasize comprehension skills, both of which have contributed to text-centered pedagogical certitudes where the reader's role is often reduced to no more than that of a passive recipient.; In an effort to confront this issue, it may be more helpful to consider the interactive and collaborative role of the reader in relation to the text by paying attention to work in contemporary literary theory which has helped to define the literary phenomenon beyond the internal features of the text. The study begins with an overview of relevant theoretical work on signification from semiotics, pragmatics, and the aesthetics of reception which challenges the traditional assumption of meaning as an inherent property of language or works of art. The second chapter examines such New Critical postulates as the "affective fallacy" and "close reading", which, contrary to current opinion, neither indicate that the act of reading is confined solely to the words on the page nor undermine the active participation of the reader in shaping literary meaning. Chapter Three traces various Slavic and French structuralist positions to describe reading as the imaginative formation of meaningful forms and patterns as opposed to straightforward linear decoding. The fourth chapter critiques reader-oriented theories and pays particular attention to the problematics involved in the shift of interpretative authority to the reader's response. In addressing deconstructionist theory which proposes the endless movement and undecidability of reference, Chapter Five explores its implications and problems for the act of reading. The final chapter considers theoretical shortcomings and institutional problems concerning the reader/text relationship.; Though it raises important pedagogic implications, this dissertation does not prescribe how literature should be taught; rather, it aims to provoke careful thought and prolonged discussion on the issue of reading.