Reception study is an important tool for understanding how readers encounter texts and absorb information. This up-to-date selection of the most important published work lays out the principles of reception study and its major theoreticians, and goes on to show how the method is being widely used in areas as varied as cultural studies, African-American studies, and the burgeoning field called the history of the book. This volume presents the only complete account of reception study today.

James L. Machor is Professor of English at Kansas State University. Philip Goldstein is Associate Professor of English and Philosophy at the University of Delaware.

Preface Acknowledgments Introduction A. Theoretical Accounts of Reception B. Literary Critical Studies of Reception C. Reception Study and the History of the Book D. Reception Study, Cultural Studies, and Mass Communication E. Limitations and Difficulties of Reception Study Bibliography: Reception Studies 1. General Theories 2. Texts and Authors 3. History of the Book 4. Texts, genres, and Audiences in mass and Popular Culture