The Readers Read Us, but Can We Read Them?

Reading theory has come to cast a bridge between literary theory and literary history, as stated in the 1967 manifesto of Hans Robert Jauss, which marked the beginning of the reception theory school. Since then, despite many variations, the tension between the MO aforementioned fields has remained present. Our study discusses the main coordinates of reading theory in the Romanian cultural space, paying special attention to the interdisciplinary approach cultivated by Professor Paul Cornea and his disciples. The position of the Romanian theorist is defined by the transition from the concept of reception to that of reading, and by the idea of a possible reconciliation between the mechanisms governing comprehension and those involved in the creation of the text. In their studies published in 1999 and 2001, respectively, Liviu Papadima and Mircea Vasilescu continued in the pragmatic and dialogical direction opened by Paul Cornea, seeking to outline a history of reading in modern Romanian culture.