Two weeks into coronavirus lock-down and I am beginning to miss going in to university. I miss the structured routine of the lectures and seminars, workshops and masterclasses. I miss sitting in the common room discussing work with my fellow students and I miss our lecturers and their passion for the topics they teach.
I suppose what I miss most of all is the Dark Academia of it all. That sense of coming together to learn, to expand one's knowledge and mix with people who actually understand the subject matter and can freely and intellectually exchange ideas with me.
It seems strange to me that dark academia is becoming something of a trend, especially with people who have never been involved in any kind of higher education! It is the trend of romanticizing a university education and all that that involves. From the fashion of woolly jumpers, scarves in university colours and Chelsea boots, to the habit of carrying a book everywhere and putting on clear-lense glasses as a fashion statement. But dark academia is not just an aesthetic look - it is an atmosphere and an attitude towards study, and it is something I have been doing for decades, since long before it became an emerging trend.
So what exactly is dark academia? Well, it can be many things. On the one hand it is a pop-culture sub-genre, along with its counter-part Light Academia. In this sense you could point to certain books and films that seemingly sum up what it is to be darkly, or lightly, academic. In dark academia we have books such as Deborah Harkness's A Discovery of Witches, Donna Tartt's The Secret History and M. A. Bennett's S.T.A.G.S, which is one of the best books I read last year and I highly recommend it.
Dark Academia is all about existentialism, fatalism and death. It leans into the Gothic and embraces it, which is probably why I enjoy reading it. It's sister sub-genre, Light Academia, is all about magical realism, fabulism and hope. Tolkien is a firm favourite in light academia circles, as are novels that carry a message of hope and happy endings, or childhood nostalgia such as C. S. Lewis. Dark academia novels tend to have more ambiguous endings and darker themes. Both types of Academia are equally valid and one is not deemed better than the other. Many people, including me, enjoy both aspects of this sub-genre and the sub-culture that is emerging from it.
In a way, dark academia is a modern version of the old Bohemian way of life. Art for art's sake. Studying for fun and enjoyment as a lifestyle, rather than swotting the night before a test because you have to. Reading poetry, plays and mythology for fun. Learning a new language as a hobby. Playing a musical instrument and so on.
It is our modern day equivalent to groups of like minded artists creating a club, such as Rossetti and his Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Virginia Wolfe and her Bloomsbury Group or Tolkien's Inklings.
In dark and light academia, people come together, often online, to discuss books, poetry, exhibitions, art and artists. They support one-another through the process of self-study, which is regarded as an essential trait of the Academia club, because even if you are in university, one day your university days will be behind you, but you should still continue to study, so self-studying is commended and encouraged.
In my opinion this is perhaps the most important aspect of this trend, because it makes dark/light academia available to all and removes the elitism of a university education being essential to study. It isn't. Yes, it's nice to be a university student and if more people apply to university due to this current trend that that is a good thing, but it isn't compulsory to be in formal university education to get involved in dark academics. You can do it from home, right now if you wanted to.
Aesthetically speaking, dark academia is all mahogany libraries, desks with secret compartments and studying by candlelight. My own study is full of dark-wood bookcases, hundreds of books and a beautiful mahogany escritoire desk that has lots of secret compartments, so it seems I was living this trend long before it even became a thing! And my university teddy-bear now has pride of place on a bookshelf, while my uni scarf is hung on the back of the door, until I return in September.
If you want to start living this trend too, to brighten up self-isolation during this crisis, then you will need to create your own Dark Academia space in your home, with a place to write and study. Add candles, books, pictures of classic authors and maybe images of your dream university. Make copious amounts of tea and coffee, eat hot crumpets and get into the right mindset. Study the classics. Read the current dark academia novels mentioned above and watch a few films to inspire you such as Tolkien, Mary Shelley or A Discovery of Witches boxset.
Retreat into your own personal world of academic enjoyment. Light candles for atmosphere. Play classical music as you read and study. Work on your assignments if like me, you are an actual university student. Make it dark, make it gothic and make it fun!
For more inspiration, check out my Dark Academic board on Pintrest here.
Until next time, stay well.
Marie x
