Dark Academia

Dark Academia is an aesthetic and genre in media, most commonly found in literature, that is associated with certain themes:
Dark academia stories generally contain tragic elements. It is associated with intellectuals and academic prestige, or at least the appearance of intellectualism.
In fandom, it is common to focus on the theme of repression, specifically that of sexual identity or as a metaphor for sexual identity. This theme is often related to period-typical homophobia.
===Influental Works===
Dark academia is a sort of shared fandom for many works, mostly books, that are associated with the genre. However, The Secret History by Donna Tartt is likely the most influental one. 
There is a duality within Dark Academia which means that modern works that incorporate the Dark Academia themes will be recommended alongside well-known (mainly) European classics. little dark studyblr Dark Academia Book Recommendations (accessed 14 February 2021) For example Dead Poets Society is an important movie in Dark Academia, but one could easily make the argument that the texts they study in the movie would qualify as Dark Academia as well. This means the categorization of which works count as Dark Academia is often debated. 
 thumb | A venn diagram of where some popular Dark Academia works overlap. By [https://lets-throw-bacchanal.tumblr.com/post/618119006107369472/so-i-got-inspired-by-stephen-meeks-pals-post-and lets-throw-bacchanal]|alt=
====Movies====
* Dead Poets Society
====Modern Literature====
* The Secret History by Donna Tartt
* The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
* If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
* The Likeness by Tana French
* Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
* Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
* A Separate Peace by John Knowles
* The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefwater (debated)
* Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling (debated)
====Classic Literature====
* Homer's The Iliad & The Odyssey
* Euripides’s Bacchae
* Shakespeare
* The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde
==Fandom==
 thumb | right | A Dark Academia uQuiz. [https://uquiz.com/quiz/0qZaSv/which-homosexually-tinted-dark-academia-friendship-should-you-build-your-whole-pe uQuiz] Which homosexually tinted dark academia friendship should you build your whole personality around? (Accessed 14 February 2021)
Dark Academia has a strong footing on TikTok, Instagram and Tumblr. On Tumblr, it exists somewhere in the realm between being an aesthetic, a lifestyle and a fandom. Posts meaning to act as Dark Academia resources will give tips on how to dress, how to excel academically, and what works of media fit into the subculture. Tumblr A Beginner’s Guide to Dark Academia
This also means that the ways of expression differs from many other fandoms. While there is fanart and fanfiction, there is also an abundance of aesthetic photography. Since a lot of Dark Academia is about emulating aspects of the Dark Academia characters, it is also common with photography of outfits inspired by them. 
==Discussion & Criticism==
While some of the stories in Dark Academia deconstruct the fantasy they depict, its concepts are still widely romanticized by fans. As a result, Dark academia has been criticized for being white, male-centric, and classist, and for romanticizing such themes without challenging them. The Guardian TikTok's Dark Academia trend criticised for 'whiteness' (Accessed 14 February 2021)
Some defenders of Dark Academia argue that it is actually more accessible than other subcultures due to the accessibility of the fashion and literature associated with it. 
There are also those who do no consider dark academia a real sub-genre at all and find its characteristics too subjective and meaningless.
==Examples of Usage==
==Meta & Further Reading==
* LitCrit: Dark Academia by Emma/blackhholesbooks (September 7, 2018}
* the guide to dark academia by m. therese (March 30, 2019)
* THE CONCEPTS OF DARK ACADEMIA by cvrsedgold (2019)
* The Secret History and Dark Academia. on "The Ancients and the Moderns" (October 27, 2019)
==Links & Resources==
* Dark Academia on Aesthetics Wiki
* A guide to dark academia blog
* Dark Academia genre on Goodreads
* dark academia on Tumblr
==References==