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“The darkness hung about our tiny circle”: Representations of and responses to power in the ‘dark academia’ novels The Secret History and If We Were Villains

Stumpf, Katharina LU (2024) LIVR07 20241
Master's Programme: Literature - Culture - Media
Abstract
The aesthetic and literary genre of dark academia has become popular due to its romanticisation of immersive academic learning and lifestyles. It has however been criticised for its frequent glorification of and focus on Eurocentric educational institutions which celebrate Western
patriarchal exclusivity. This thesis examines in how far this is true of the genre’s prominent novels Donna Tartt’s The Secret History and M. L. Rio’s If We Were Villains which remain popular despite their traditional contents. I thereby intend to support a critical examination of contemporary literary
trends and to identify the persisting value in popular exclusive texts. My analysis relies on a Foucauldian and queer feminist reading to concretely determine... (More)
The aesthetic and literary genre of dark academia has become popular due to its romanticisation of immersive academic learning and lifestyles. It has however been criticised for its frequent glorification of and focus on Eurocentric educational institutions which celebrate Western
patriarchal exclusivity. This thesis examines in how far this is true of the genre’s prominent novels Donna Tartt’s The Secret History and M. L. Rio’s If We Were Villains which remain popular despite their traditional contents. I thereby intend to support a critical examination of contemporary literary
trends and to identify the persisting value in popular exclusive texts. My analysis relies on a Foucauldian and queer feminist reading to concretely determine the novels’ featured power structures and their representation. I find that the novels put forth a nuanced depiction of attractive yet dangerously corrupting academic circles which promise their students social ascent. The students’ struggles against excessive individual power aim to ensure the continuation of their undisturbed ideal academic space at the cost of human lives. The narratives thereby advertise ‘dark academia’ less than they are fascinating, dark cautionary tales, encouraging the genre’s current transformation to explicitly diverse and postcolonial DA literature. (Less)
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author
Stumpf, Katharina LU
supervisor
organization
course
LIVR07 20241
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
dark academia, elite, The Secret History, If We Were Villains, power, Foucault, queer, feminist, Eurocentric institutions, literary aesthetic, romanticisation, Donna Tartt, M.L. Rio
language
English
id
9173922
date added to LUP
2024-10-21 15:33:50
date last changed
2024-10-21 15:33:50
@misc{9173922,
  abstract     = {{The aesthetic and literary genre of dark academia has become popular due to its romanticisation of immersive academic learning and lifestyles. It has however been criticised for its frequent glorification of and focus on Eurocentric educational institutions which celebrate Western
patriarchal exclusivity. This thesis examines in how far this is true of the genre’s prominent novels Donna Tartt’s The Secret History and M. L. Rio’s If We Were Villains which remain popular despite their traditional contents. I thereby intend to support a critical examination of contemporary literary
trends and to identify the persisting value in popular exclusive texts. My analysis relies on a Foucauldian and queer feminist reading to concretely determine the novels’ featured power structures and their representation. I find that the novels put forth a nuanced depiction of attractive yet dangerously corrupting academic circles which promise their students social ascent. The students’ struggles against excessive individual power aim to ensure the continuation of their undisturbed ideal academic space at the cost of human lives. The narratives thereby advertise ‘dark academia’ less than they are fascinating, dark cautionary tales, encouraging the genre’s current transformation to explicitly diverse and postcolonial DA literature.}},
  author       = {{Stumpf, Katharina}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{“The darkness hung about our tiny circle”: Representations of and responses to power in the ‘dark academia’ novels The Secret History and If We Were Villains}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}