Module 6: Introduction

Introduction

Every time you read, you respond in some fashion to a text.

Reader-response techniques require readers to examine and explain their personal reaction to a written work. Often, the reading of a single text will result in a variety of reader responses or interpretations. For example, when you look at the image below, what do you see?

Faces or vase? Or both?

Why do you suppose you see one initially and not the other? Does your orientation have anything to do with it?

Think for a moment about how people discuss a religious text like the Bible or a governing document like the United States Constitution. Different people can read the same words on a page and arrive at completely different conclusions about the text's meaning.

Inevitably, readers' individual experiences affect how they read. Sometimes a single word produces a strong reaction. Think about how the words "liberal" and "conservative" are emotionally charged these days, and how you are inclined to respond to them as a result of your personal experiences. In general, a text that sustains a wide variety of responses and interpretations is considered to have resonance.

Great works of philosophy, religion, drama, or political science are considered great works because of the wide variety of interpretations they can sustain. That is to say, promoting differing responses is often a positive thing, especially when writing for various audiences or when writing creatively. There are times, however, when agreement on a text's meaning is a matter of necessity and various interpretations of the text are not a good thing (hotel exit instructions in case of a fire, for example).

As a reader in this course, you have been exposed to diverse reading assignments. You have been asked to read actively and to read like a writer, looking at a text for the ways in which it imparts meaning—taking note of a writer's craft and leveraging some of those techniques in your own writing. Consider the texts you have read for this course and think about why you liked some more than others. Is it because they addressed some of your own interests, ideas, or personal frustrations?

Incorporating your own experience as you discuss a text will result in your third major essay this term: The Reader-Response Essay. First, you'll practice close reading of a single text. Then you will survey the rich diversity of texts you have read over the term and select one for the focus of your essay.