Contact:
- Carol Siegel, Â鶹´«Ã½ Department of English, 360/546-9641, siegel@vancouver.wsu.edu
- Emily Pepe, Â鶹´«Ã½ Office of Campus Advancement, 360/546-9602, pepe@vancouver.wsu.edu
- Theresa Halter, Indiana University Press, 812/855-8054, thalter@indiana.edu
VANCOUVER, Wash.-Washington State University Vancouver professor Carol Siegel is proud to introduce "Goth's Dark Empire," a scholarly book that examines the history of Goth culture as an ongoing revolution against mainstream social conformity.
Published by Indiana University Press, "Empire" is a panoramic portrait of Goth from its inception as a British punk culture spin-off to its rise to prominence in such figures as Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails to its undeserved present-day stigma as a supposedly contributing cause of the Columbine High School massacre.
Siegel, a professor of American Studies and English, uses her background in gender and cultural theory to explore how the innocuous elements of Goth ideology (such as individualism, secular humanism, sexual tolerance and anticonsumerism) have been misconstrued and maligned by social conservatives, especially in the aftermath of the Columbine tragedy.
"Contrary to popular belief, the perpetrators at the school weren't Goths. They were, in fact, hated by the real Goths at school," Siegel said. "One of the questions I seek to answer is what defines Goth and why this subculture has been vilified by people who don't understand."
Columbine wasn't the first time Goths took a hit to their reputation. They have been marginalized throughout their brief history in the West because of their continued resistance to the prevailing economic, religious and sexual regimes.
Originally called "positive punks" because of their optimistic outlook on society, Great Britain's first-generation Goths fell from grace when rumors of devil worship and sexual perversion tainted their status in polite society. Today, public misconceptions continue to obscure the many forward-thinking attributes of this underground subculture.
"Goths are nonviolent. They reject traditional consumerism, and they have a completely different beauty standard outside the mechanism of advertising. They also tolerate homosexuality and unconventional gender roles, something that you don't often see in high schools where athletes are the socially dominant group," Siegel said.
Siegel has a doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley. Her other books include "Male Masochism: Modern Revisions of the Story of Love," "New Millennial Sexstyles" and "Lawrence Among the Women: Wavering Boundaries in Women's Literary Tradition."
Book Information
"Goth's Dark Empire"
by Carol Siegel
Published by Indiana University Press
224 pages, hardcover $49.95 or paperback $19.95
Available through Powell's City of Books, Barnes & Noble, and other local stores. To order, call (800) 842-6796 or visit