Abstract:

The publication of The Beginning of Reading History in 1986 marked the first formal

definition of the history of reading in the West， and many theoretical hypotheses related to it

emerged one after another. As an interdisciplinary subject， the disciplinary boundaries of western

history of reading have always been controversial. This paper clarifies the theoretical assumptions，

methodological pitfalls， subject tasks and basic problems of the western reading history， and

expounds its discipline boundary design， and attempts to construct the soft boundary of western

reading history to promote the understanding of the western theories on the reading history since the

20th century， and provide a new perspective for the study of the history of reading in China.

Key words:

The history of Reading Theoretical Assumptions Methodological Trap Disciplinary

Boundaries Soft Boundary

CLC Number: 

• G239