Towards a better definition of 'audience': Hans Robert Jauss's 'rezeptionsaesthetik' theory

[摘要] In this thesis, I consider the structure and nature of Hans Robert Jauss;;s notion of the audience and the role this notion plays in literary criticism. In light of the fact that Jauss;;s conception of the reader is unique and complicated (in that he does not fall neatly into any of the larger categories of the reader such as Riffaterre;;s ;;superreader;; or Wolff;;s ;;intended reader;;), I seek to provide a fuller explanation of the features of the audience for each reading stage. In order to flush out the characteristics of the three reading stages described by Jauss, I utilize Alfred Schutz;;s notions of type, typification, and finite provinces of meaning. Schutz;;s conception of the ;;finite provinces of meaning;; is a helpful one when seeking to unpack the ;;types;; which implicitly compose the activities of each reading stage. Therefore, I attempt to unravel the implicit typifications which make up Jauss;;s ;;stages of reading;; as well as motivate the reasons why such a project bears some significance for our understanding of the notion of the reader as subject.

[发布机构] Rice University