“Beauty is terror. Whatever we call beautiful, we quiver before it. And what could be more terrifying and beautiful, to souls like the Greeks or our own, than to lose control completely”
– THE SECRET HISTORY, DONNA TARTT
What is this Course About?
ENGL 1102-H7 uses Dark Academia – an Internet subculture romanticizing the pursuit of knowledge and classical literature using themes of death and suffering – in combination with WOVEN – an acronym that includes written, oral, verbal, electronic, and nonverbal forms of communication – to accomplish the following learning outcomes:
- To encourage students to read The Secret History by Donna Tartt.
- Book Synopsis: “Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality they slip gradually from obsession to corruption and betrayal, and at last—inexorably—into evil” (Tartt).
- To allow students to analyze how the events, such as Bunny’s murder and teenage alcoholism, emphasize themes that fit into Dark Academia and subcultures as a whole.
- Even for individuals who do not identify with Dark Academia, the class can provide a larger context outside the culture with self and team-curated chapter discussions, philosophical debates, and more.
- To enhance students’ communication skills, strengthen their arguments, and understand the importance of multimodality with all aspects of WOVEN in the context of Dark Academia.
- To collaborate with other students from many majors, both STEM and non-STEM, and strengthen their research skills for future areas of knowledge through class assignments and projects.
How is this Different from Other English Classes?
Unlike a traditional English class, where much of the focus is on writing essays, this course uses artifacts – or long-term projects – that are designed to include multiple aspects of WOVEN. This pedagogy allows students to simultaneously accomplish all three learning outcomes in a fun and engaging way.
Even though the first artifact is an essay that requires students to analyze one paragraph from The Secret History’s first three chapters, students still choose a different form of WOVEN (preferably a strength or weakness) to interpret the theme, literary devices, and character observations from a different perspective. By adding WOVEN in this way, students are able to enhance the ideas they are trying to communicate and convey messages they otherwise might not be able to in a standard essay.
Furthermore, the second artifact is a podcast requiring students to verbally describe how a Georgia Tech myth applies to The Secret History and the themes of Dark Academia. As the students design the podcast for an audience outside of Georgia Tech, they need to write out their rules, point (or thesis), evidence, and stakes; that way, their arguments are easier to understand, and they can maintain a continuous flow of information. Afterward, they design a visually appropriate and stimulating logo and a written episode description to accompany the podcast. This artifact requires students to use every aspect of WOVEN, and the more detailed design process ultimately leads to a more comprehensive and well thought-out podcast than if students were just writing and reading off a script.
Why does this Course, and Multimodality, Matter?
As a result of these artifacts and this course, students find it valuable to know about Dark Academia because it balances out the overly-optimistic and unrealistic views they may have to justify or cope with their lives. Therefore, students can form more grounded opinions and execute better decisions in their burgeoning futures. However, Dark Academia must not be used in excess because reality is neither completely light nor dark- it’s a mix of gray. While Internet subcultures allow students to form a sense of community and imagine themselves in a different context, it is essential to realize when certain aspects are being overly romanticized. By observing this behavior and analyzing its impact, we, like the students, can apply the findings to the rest of our lives.
Furthermore, multimodality is a critical aspect of the course because it allows the students to connect with different themes in different ways. As you’ll see with the rest of this site, different modes require different skills, and each student has varying strengths and weaknesses to improve upon them. Similarly, their audience members also are drawn to different modes, so multimodality bridges the gap between creators and audience members who use the same modes to communicate similar, or even different, themes. However, if everyone was to use the same communication method, those who are not drawn toward it are less likely to understand the message the work will try to convey. Therefore, more multimodality is needed because it brings different people together such that everyone can be a little more understood in our world.
Ready to start your journey?
Picture of the Stephen C. Hall building obtained from https://news.gatech.edu/archive/features/hidden-georgia-tech-architectural-details.shtml