Text

From Metapedia

A text is the place were signs are produced. A text is never a static entity, it is alive and is subject to new interpretations every time a different person is exposed to it. The text is a site of production of meaning. The audience of any text will interpret it according to their own "cultural encyclopedia," their own personal, cultural baggage and experiences. This view is usually called a Generative/Productive notion of the text. Examples of two authors who regard texts in this fashion are Roland Barthes in his "Role of the Reader" essay, as well as Michel Foucault in his "The Author Function".