Reception theory is a version of
reader response literary theory that emphasizes each particular reader's reception or interpretation in making meaning from a
literary text. Reception theory is generally referred to as
audience reception in the analysis of
communications models. In literary studies, reception theory originated from the work of
Hans-Robert Jauss in the late 1960s, and the most influential work was produced during the 1970s and early 1980s in Germany and the US (Fortier 132), with some notable work done in other Western European countries. A form of reception theory has also been applied to the study of
historiography, as detailed in Reception history (below).