Social class as flow and mutability: the Barbados case

Heather Greenhalgh-Spencer, Michelle Castro, Ergin Bulut, Koeli Goel, Chunfeng Lin, Cameron Mccarthy

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

Abstract

This article draws on ethnographic research that examines the contemporary articulation of class identity in the postcolonial elite school setting of Old College high school in Barbados. From the qualitative data derived from this study, we argue that social class is better conceived as a series of flows, mutations, performances and performatives. We complicate the common-sense notion that class is a stable structure that allows for the categorization of people by providing a nuanced look into the lived experiences of students and alumni at this elite school. We focus on the wearing of uniforms, the use of technological devices, the deployment of language, and student-lead articulations of social class in an increasingly globalized space. Class is defined and (re-)shaped by students' belongings and longings, all of which, too, are, mutable, and can readily mutate in accordance with local and global circumstances of supply and demand.
Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationNew Sociologies of Elite Schooling
EditorsJane Kenway, Aaron Koh
PublisherRoutledge
Pages156-173
ISBN (Electronic)9781315204529
ISBN (Print)9781138700666, 9780367143220
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2017

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