Global elites have gained a renewed significance in the public debate in recent years as numbers point to an increased income disparity. But what lies beyond these numbers and statistics? In this course, we study how, in various geographic regions, society’s wealthy have found ways to distinguish themselves from the general public or common people. We will examine the foundational works of elite sociology and conceptions of the elite. We will explore how society’s privileged have fashioned themselves in the past, and how different forms of social capital help them enact social distinction today. Moreover, the course will explore how gender and race intersect with other categories in the analysis of the privileged. Drawing on contemporary studies of the global elite, the students will be familiarized with the various practices of the global elite including private education, mobility, and philanthropy.
- Lehrende(r): Liina Mustonen