" After the first edited volume Changes in Religion and Belief in Contemporary Vietnam, the Social Sciences Series with the support of the Harvard - Yenching Institute now proudly presents its second volume with a focus on literary studies, Literary Study in Vietnam - Possibilities and Challenges. On the basis of this reality we have organized this special volume in to main parts. The first part consists of 3 essays aiming at reviewing the process of introducing foreign theories ( primarily Western theories ) into Vietnam; introducing two theoretical scholarships, namely French & American, with which Vietnamese literary researchers are most concerned; and examining the reception of Edward Said's Orientalism in East Asian countries ( including Vietnam ) as an example of the traveling theory. The second and major part consists of 6 essays focusing on Vietnamese literature from past to present. These are case study on the application of Western theory and methodology into Vietnamese literary reality. This volume, with its focus on renovation ( of viewpoints and approaches ), has devoted much space to young scholars who wish to try their hand at new theories and approaches. Furthermore this volume also presents an essay furnishing a general view with thoughtful comments and suggestions relating to the perceptions of and / or solutions for issues discussed in this volume and beyond ". ( From the Foreword of the Edition ). Table of contents: 1 - Vietnam literary study: How has it been transformed ? By Tran Dinh Su. 2 - Vietnam literary criticism - a methodological profile. By Do Lai Thuy. 3 - Traveling theory & Orientalism in East Asia. By Hoang Luong Xa. 4 - Remarks on differences in the presentation of literary theory in America & in France. By Cao Viet Dung. 5 - Archetypal criticism & the archetype of water in Vietnamese literature. By Nguyen Thi Thanh Xuan. 6 - The Movement of reforming literary forms, literary mindset & literature's dynamic formation in Vietnam in the late 17th & 18th centuries. By Nguyen Kim Son. 7 - Discourses on sexuality in Vietnamese fiction ( From the beginning of the 20th century to 1945 ). By Tran Van Toan. 8 - The first three decades of the 20th century & formation of literary fields in Vietnam. By Pham Xuan Thach. 9 - A socio-literary study on Tran Dan. By Phung Ngoc Kien. 10 - From children folk songs to modern poetry: the case of Tran Dan. By Tran Ngoc Hieu. 11 - English abstracts. 12 - Index ( of cited authors ). 13 - On contributors.