Abstract

ALVAREZ RIVADULLA, María José. “The Rich with the Rich and the Poor with the Poor”? Interaction among Different Social Classes in an Elite University. Desacatos [online]. 2019, n.59, pp.50-67. ISSN 2448-5144.

What happens when unequals get together? This article analyses the interaction between upper and lower social classes in an elite university in Colombia, one of the world’s most unequal countries, enabled by a government fellowship program. Through in-depth interviews, ethnographic observation, and focus groups, the article finds that the program provides unprecedented opportunities for students from working class backgrounds to interact with higher social classes and possibly even form networks of friendship. Such interactions are permeated by new experiences of inequality, of emotions such as shame and pride, and of symbolic boundaries that emphasize academic performance and connect students, and others that highlight class differences and separate them.

Keywords : subjective inequality; symbolic boundaries; emotions; networks; tertiary education.

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