Co-Geeking

I posted about dark academia about a year ago when I learned of the phenomenon. Time for a sibling post of sorts: since then, I’ve discovered the style light academia.

According to Aesthetics Wiki, light academia favors positive themes in general, “focusing on optimism, sensitivity, joy, gratitude, friendship, motivation, and happy endings.” (Naturally still associated with the love of learning.)

Apparently, the term was coined on Tumblr already in 2019. (Man, I must’ve been hanging around the wrong side of Tumblr not to have heard about it then!) Also, apparently cottagecore can overlap with light academia, as can a romanticized view of coffee shops as places for people-watching and studying.

Sounds like neutrals, earthy colors, white, gold, and pastels are especially favored. One article lists movies and shows with light academia aesthetics, including classics like Little Women, but also newer productions like Bridgerton, the 2005 version of Pride & Prejudice or the 2022 Netflix adaptation of Persuasion. There are, of course, playlists and recommended activities or crafts. Some people even sell light academia mystery boxes on online platforms! I’ve found out that there are also other, established flavors I hadn’t heard of before: green academia and chaotic academia.

(Good grief, I feel officially old! At least there doesn’t seem to be any academia cores.)

While I love reading, knowledge, and learning, I confess I’m a little perplexed by this dissecting of various aspects of campus / university life into separate aesthetics. (Not to even mention the fact that Finnish universities by and large look quite different from these Anglo-American-style ones.) But I guess that’s what we humans do—we create endless groupings out of the same elements.

Image: light academia watercolor clipart by Anna Zhar at HeatDigitalClub on Etsy

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