Abstract

This essay investigates the conceptual framework of some notable contributions dedicated to the study of reading practices in the 20th century. Although reading processes have gained a crucial importance both in human and social sciences research fields, it is still difficult to find an interdisciplinary theory of reading which could be accountable for the everyday experience of a reader. I will articulate my reasoning in three steps, in order to show how reading practices influence the horizons of meaning in everyday life, both in the social construction of reality and in subjectivation processes that make the world suitable for individuals. In the first part (1-3), my aim is to give an account of different approaches on the study of reading. The central part (4-6) will look at the experience of the reader and its relation to times and spaces. In the final part (7-8), I will point out the role of reading acts as creative resources for the self, not only as forms of cultural consumption or social distinction.