# light academia
## English
### Alternative forms

* Light Academia

### Etymology

Coined as a logical opposite of dark academia, said to be from a popular Tumblr text post by Ella (@plantaires) posted on 17 January 2019.

### Pronunciation

* Audio (US):(file)

### Noun

light academia (uncountable)
* (Tumblr aesthetic) An aesthetic which romanticizes classic literature and academia with a lighter and more cheerful vibe than that of dark academia. [from 2019]
** 2020 April 24, Caroline Edwards, “Dark Academia is the witchy literary aesthetic sweeping TikTok”, in i-D‎, archived from the original on 25 April 2020:Gen Z have reclaimed dark academia and have built a growing community on TikTok, alongside other budding aesthetics like cottagecore, grandmacore, goblincore and light academia.
** 2021 February 26, Maija Kappler, “Gen-Z Fashion Trends Include Goblincore, Crochet Bucket Hats”, in HuffPost‎, archived from the original on 18 September 2021:Light academia, as you could probably guess, is a more normie, pastel take. […] “With 48 percent of our active users being Gen Z, we saw overall engagement increase around light academia timed to back-to-school in September,” Tumblr’s trend expert Amanda Brennan told Nylon.
** 2021 spring, Daniel Kang, Rachel Ker, Ivanna Tjitra, “Letter from the Editors”, in Beckman Chronicle, volume IV, edition II, page 03:The 2021 Spring Magazine’s theme is “Spring Picnic.” This theme encompasses all things fairy[-]tale, cottagecore, light academia and a hint of scrap-booking.
** 2021 December 28, Emilie Friedlander, “The Year in Aesthetics, From Dark Academia to McBling”, in Vice‎, archived from the original on 28 December 2021:Light Academia is softer, underlining how calm, happy, and marvelous student life is: an almond latte, freshly picked oranges, book-pressed flowers, a newly bought nib.
** 2022 March 25, Jason Diez, “Looks to Slay Bloom in Spring”, in The Collegian, number 8, San Joaquin Delta College, page 4:For those who’re fairly aware of Dark Academia, know the twin sister “Light Academia” that focuses on softer and brighter tones.
** 2022 October 1, “The Light Academia pack”, in Cosmopolitan:Any Light Academia girl would have these ~sophisticated~ games at home.
** 2022 October 12, Sarah Beck, “‘Fall’ in love with autumn fashion”, in The Merciad, volume 96, number 04, page 10:Lastly, a good chunky flat Mary Jane or loafer is another absolute must this fall, playing into the trending dark and light academia aesthetic.
** 2023 January 8, Adele Cardani, “Trend Zone”, in The Independent:The last year brought us a slew of style aesthetics that materialised on TikTok – regencycore, clean girl, dark academia, light academia, crustaceancore, plazacore, pilates princess, 2014 Tumblr soft grunge, and perhaps most recently, “frazzled English woman” – just to name a few.
** 2023 January 14, Daisy Woodward, “Gen Z and young millennials' surprising obsession”, in BBC‎, archived from the original on 14 January 2023:Digital microtrends Dark Academia and Light Academia – dedicated as they are to the romanticisation of a passion for art and knowledge through imagery – both make rousing use of classical music in order to create the desired ambience.

### References

* ↑ Ella (@plantaires) (2019 January 17) “GIRL // GOD”, in Tumblr‎, archived from the original on 28 January 2019:you’ve heard of ‘dark academia’, now its time for ‘light’ academia… wearing light linen sundresses in foreign countries, eating picnics and pastries in the afternoon sun while reading poetry and laughing with your friends, the burning passion and excitement when you finally make a breakthrough in your research, falling asleep in your lovers arms sunkissed and happy… everything is beautiful and hopeful and no one dies