The Meaning of Text

This is a Wiki dedicated to determining the Meaning of TEXT. We aim to define the semantic field of TEXT by analysing the operation and production of texts in their specific historical and cultural moments. Our texts include the written word, art, graffiti, tattoos, and all other manifestations of meaning created by an author and received by at least one interpreter. This problematisation of TEXT is yielding a myriad of questions, many of which have been and still are at the core of literary studies; for example, should we privilege authorial intent? Can we read a text in its full textuality without recourse to its precise production? How important is the original text? How can we account for the materiality of text? Our semantic field aims at inclusion of these issues, but needs to exclude the nebulousness of the endless text-ness inherent in all objects. EMT