TRACES OF THE KONSTANZ SCHOOL IN VIETNAM’S 2018 LITERATURE CURRICULUM AND LITERARY READING INSTRUCTION

Abstract

This article investigates how key ideas of the Konstanz School of Reception Aesthetics, represented by Hans Robert Jauss and Wolfgang Iser, are reflected in Vietnam’s 2018 Literature Curriculum and its orientation toward literary reading instruction. Using qualitative curriculum analysis, the study examines the official curriculum framework and guiding documents to identify patterns of theoretical uptake. The analysis reveals two main findings. First, Jauss’s concept of the horizon of expectations is evident in the curriculum’s emphasis on historical–social context and the active role of learners in interpreting literary texts. Second, the curriculum advances a competency-based conception of literary reading that foregrounds interaction between text and reader, resonating with core assumptions of Iser’s reception theory. However, these reception-theoretical influences remain largely at the level of curricular discourse and are not systematically translated into pedagogical principles or instructional guidance. The article contributes to curriculum studies by clarifying the selective and partial incorporation of Konstanz aesthetics in Vietnam’s curriculum reform and by identifying a gap between reception-oriented curricular intentions and their pedagogical operationalisation. The study is limited to document analysis and does not examine classroom practice. Its findings suggest the need for further pedagogical development to transform reception-theoretical concepts into actionable frameworks for literary reading instruction.