Read this Everyday Sociology blog entry called “Social Class and the College Experience at “Renowned University”: https://www.everydaysociologyblog.com/2021/05/social-class-and-the-college-experience-at-renowned-university.html
The article describes three kinds of students at an elite college: affluent students, the “privileged poor,” and “doubly disadvantaged” students. As you’ll read, each of these groups comes to college with different combinations of economic, social, and cultural capital. These capitals appear to have significant impacts on their college success.
First, read the article looking for examples of economic capital, social capital, and the three kinds of cultural capital described in Ch. 10 (objectified, institutional, and embodied). If you want to go deeper, listen to this 15 minute interview with author Anthony Jack: https://www.wbur.org/radioboston/2019/03/07/privileged-poor-elite-universities
Then, answer the questions below.
Instructions:
1. Compare and contrast the capitals available to wealthy, privileged poor, and doubly disadvantaged students at “Renowned University.” (Give specific examples from the article).
2. Think about the concept of “social closure.” Do the “privileged poor” experience forms of social closure at university? In what ways? How does their experience compare to that of the “doubly disadvantaged”?
3. Do you think that attending this elite university will help “doubly disadvantaged” students have a better “fit” in elite circles in their professional and post-college lives? Why or why not? (Give specific examples.)