Subcultures: Dark Academia

If you’ve been online, you probably heard about dark academia. Described by Wikipedia as an “interest in higher education, the arts and literature”, if you’ve watched the Harry Potter movies or read the books, then you have a bit of an idea of what dark academia looks like.

Dark academia rose in popularity online during the lockdowns of the Covid-19 pandemic and is still prevalent in the literature spaces of BookTok and BookTube.  

And what does the dark academia aesthetic look like? People wanting to dress with the dark academia aesthetic in mind will buy tweed coats, sweater vests, and plaid skirts or trousers.

Their hobbies may include writing their next novel or poetry collection on the typewriter by candlelight while listening to a classical music playlist. Having an interest in dark academia may also mean having a fascination with mythology, classic literature, and gothic architecture. 

You may also see someone into dark academia reading books like The Secret History, The Atlas Six, Babel, or the Ninth House. Or, you may find them watching shows and films like the Dead Poets Society, The Umbrella Academy, A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Queen’s Gambit, The Magicians, or Kill Your Darlings. This is where most of my experience with dark academia comes in.

I picked up The Atlas Six because I find the lore and history behind the Library of Alexandria really cool. I went on to pick up Babel for my birthday as a gift from my boyfriend because I had heard so many good things about the author R.F Kuang’s Poppy War trilogy, which I haven’t gotten around to getting yet. I’m ten chapters into Babel and have been asked by a friend of mine to talk with him about it because he really liked it. 

I hope you've enjoyed this overview of dark academia and these dives into pop culture subcultures.