Interpretive Conventions : The Reader in the Study of American Fiction / / Steven Mailloux.

• Author: Mailloux, Steven.
• Place / Publishing House: Ithaca, N.Y. : : Cornell University Press,, 1982.; ©1982.
• Year of Publication: 1982
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (228 pages)
• Notes: Includes index.

In Interpretive Conventions, Steven Mailloux provides a general introduction to reader-response criticism while developing his own specific reader-oriented approach to literature. He examines five influential theories of the reading process-those of Stanley Fish, Jonathan Culler, Wolfgang Iser, Norman Holland, and David Bleich. He goes on to argue the need for a more comprehensive reader-response criticism based on a consistent social model of reading. He develops such a reading model and also discusses American textual editing and literary history.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- 1. Literary Theory and Psychological Reading Models -- 2. Literary Theory and Social Reading Models -- 3. Practical Criticism: The Reader in Am erican Fiction -- 4. Textual Scholarship and "Author's Final Intention" -- 5. A Typology of Conventions -- 6. Interpretive Conventions -- 7. Literary History and Reception Study -- Conclusion -- Appendix. Reader-Response Criticism and Teaching Composition -- Bibliographical Note -- Index