2. • Reception theory emphasizes the
reader response from a text.
• It is a form of reader response literary
theory that was developed in the 1960’s
by Hans-Robert Jauss.
• Stuart Hall later developed it for media
and communication studies and the
theory is most influential from the
1980’s onwards.
QuickTimeª and a
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3. • Stuart Hall’s approach to textual analysis
is based on ‘negotiation’ and ‘opposition’.
• This means that texts do not have intrinsic
meanings but instead have meanings
encoded into them which are then
decoded by the reader.
• The way a reader decodes a text is
dependent on sociological factors such as
age, past experiences and their own
beliefs.
• The meaning of a text is therefore created
through the relationship between the text
and the reader.
4. • When a group of readers share a similar
cultural background it is more likely that
they will decode a similar meaning.
• If a reader has a different cultural
background to the producer of a text the
less likely it is they will decode the meaning
that the producer intended.
• Producers can try to encourage readers to
gather the intended meaning in their text by
encoding it but it is still relative to the reader
how they decode it.
