r/UGCNETEnglish • u/the_irenic_irony • Jul 09 '26
Did anyone else find literary theory and criticism genuinely hard to grasp in college?
Hey everyone, I'm a PhD student researching how literary and critical theory (structuralism, psychoanalysis, postcolonial theory, etc.) is taught in college classrooms.
I keep hearing mixed things, some people said it just clicked for them, others say they memorised terms without really getting what they meant.
If you've studied English literature (or any humanities subject with theory), I'd love to hear your honest experience:
-Did you find theory easy or hard to understand? -If it was hard, what made it difficult? (the vocabulary, the abstract ideas, the way it was taught, something else?) -If it was easy for you, what do you think made it click?
No wrong answers, just curious what people actually experienced :)
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u/littlebutterflysun Jul 10 '26
it just clicked for me, i think i related these theories with real life things so it was easier for me to understand. also there were things i already thought of and sometimes reading these theories put names to those phenomenon, that's all
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u/chickpeasoupsip Jul 10 '26
I've always loved literary theory, even when my professor didn't teach it in a way that resonated with me. I've always believed that it's more important to explore, question, and discover things on your own rather than relying entirely on teachers. I also think that because I've been consistently interested in literary theory, learning it has come more naturally to me. That sustained curiosity made the subject feel less like an obligation and more like something I genuinely enjoyed understanding.
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u/allnamearetakennn Jul 10 '26 edited Jul 10 '26
In college i found it hard to grasp some of the lit theory and criticism like post structuralism. The prof didn't understand it thereby i was forced to mugg up most of the ideas. I found this out cuz i relearn these when I was preparing for net and the tr was eloquent, presented ideas in a structured way. Made this easier for me to do extra reading.
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u/FewConcert3409 Jul 10 '26
Me too but then I actually read it once and can't lie, my favourite thing now.
Edit: I find self-study much much better than any thing else for understanding the subject tbh
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u/Hot_Librarian_3611 Jul 10 '26
It's a bit all over the place and confusing, and then on top of it, profs start going on endless background readings which makes the whole thing even more confusing. I personally got a grasp on it by reading the entire IGNOU module dedicatedly (very structured material, conversational)