This ever-diminishing group tried to keep the flame burning for the ideals of the original group—so named because it was founded at the University of Constance in West Germany. When the group pondered the great dedication of the founding members to Reader Response and Reception Theory, it felt a combination of envy and inspiration. As an artistic outlet, the Constance School Alums formed a heavy metal band (Rezeptionsästhetik) that sang anthem-like songs dedicated to the work of the Constance School. They always got a good response from the audience.

Hans Robert Strauss

Resident Provocateur

Hans always keeps things lively for the group, bringing in various French and Italian texts and soliciting feedback about how readers felt when they read them. Sometimes he blatantly ignored that readers weren't fluent in the language of the book and insolently insisted that they "must still formulate some sort of response."

Robert Weimann

Band Director and Pet Marxist

Because Bob's thing was theater, he was a natural for band director. So what he did was stage direct Rezeptionsästhetik's big stadium performances so that fans could learn straight from the mosh pit. He loved popular culture and made sure that audience members appreciated that aesthetic understanding was for The People. Democracy doesn't mean empowering some elite reader; it means empowering all readers.