Researching Reception as a Concept in the Area of History of Historiography

Abstract

The article refers to the achievements of the German school of literaturetheory, known as the Constance School. Its goal is to seek theoretical inspiration for the research of history of historiography in methodologically related areas. The main representatives of the School—Wolfgang Iser, Hans Robert Jauss and Karl-Heinz Striele—lay foundations for the conception of reception aesthetics, under the strong influence of the historics of J.G. Droysen and the hermeneutic reflection of H.-G. Gadamer. The first part presents the School’s main theses and their development in Jauss’ interpretation. The second part refers to the author’s own research into the history of historiography of 19th and 20th centuries to to show how this conception can be applied.