Is Dark Academia Really New or Just a Gothic Revival?

The term “dark academia” popped up numerous times while reading up on R.F. Kuang’s Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translator’s Revolution. It is an aesthetic inspired by 19th and early 20th century universities including architecture, art, and literature. Specifically, it is Gothic architecture, school uniforms, strict-regimented study, and Autumnal color schemes. It clearly draws inspiration from Harry Potter’s Hogwarts, of which nearly all Gen Z and Millennials have either read the books and/or seen the movies.

First question is: how is this different from Victorian or Gothic aesthetic? Is it a revival of those fashions? Is it just superficial or is it something more? In other words, is it really new, warranting its own name?

Best I can tell, the answer is no. It isn’t new, it is a revival or an almost nostalgic reach back to the higher education of previous generations. Some describe it as a reaction to the “overly corporatized” university experience with comfortable amenities and a dedication to indoctrination rather than academic rigor. Modern universities are more like daycare for adults, giving them four years to find and explore themselves while paying $40,000 per year in tuition.

Perhaps the younger generation is recognizing that it shouldn’t be this way.

Source: Foreign Policy Magazine, 26 April 2024

It is easy to see how one could attend college and feel like they are just a commodity or vehicle for tuition revenue, nothing more. It is all part of a bigger system. Granted I’ve only read a small sample size but there is a consistent theme of revolution and fighting the system in dark academia novels.

Is this a new insight? No. Of course elite institutions of higher education are part of the system. They are the system…literally. They are among the most privileged elites of most, if not all, Western societies. In addition, students have been at the forefront of social movements that have often broken with the traditions of the past. The system and revolution. And so it goes…

The stories may have the aesthetic but lack the underlying philosophy of the institutions of the time. These institutions were dedicated to Enlightenment Principles and greatly refined the foundations of Western Civilization. You could call it classical liberalism, neoliberalism, or whatever but it is the foundation for which most of our societies have been built.

Only, the characters in these stories seem to lack understanding of Enlightenment Principles. It is possible the authors don’t either. There is a growing categorical rejection of all things Western and Enlightenment, to the point the works aren’t read at all. It as accepted that all principles arising from it are flawed and must be dismantled or ignored, down to the ethics.

Babel is claimed as representative of dark academia and an example of a poorly understood classical liberal university. It’s characters also do not seem to have been brought up in such an institution. It’s protagonist commits homicide but his friends convince him it was justified. In fact, all of their violent acts that followed are all depicted as justified.

If only the story managed to construct something more than a straw man to represent the prestigious imperial institution of Oxford. Perhaps a more fascinating ethical theme could have been explored here, or even a critique of higher classical liberal institutions, specifically their hypocrisy.

Given what I’ve read on the author and the aesthetic since then, it seems more likely writers don’t understand their intellectual “enemy.” They know the institutions but not the philosophy.

Despite Babel’s shortcomings, it is refreshing. For those that are critical of US universities and the dropping of standards in liberal arts programs, it is encouraging to see the younger generation voice dissatisfaction. They want more and recognize it in works like Harry Potter. Most of it probably is superficial in nature only, limited to fashion and architecture, but it’s a start.

For the most part, I have not come across any particularly insightful or well-developed stories set in this dark academia setting. Aesthetic alone is insufficient to appeal to me as a reader but I understand why others may be drawn to it. In previous decades, readers were drawn to Gothic aesthetics by sexy vampires. I read my fill of vampire novels during those years, which is why I see this trend as cyclical rather than truly revolutionary.

Who knows, maybe something more interesting will follow it…