Will Barratt, Ph.D.

 Which are the high prestige residence halls?  Which are the low prestige residence halls?  Which are the high prestige fraternities and sororities? Will Barratt, Ph.D.

 What are the high prestige majors?  What are the low prestige majors? Will Barratt, Ph.D.

 Write a quick definition of social class. Will Barratt, Ph.D.

 Dress  Dialect  What else? ◦ What if I say I spent 2 weeks at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville this summer? ◦ What if I say I spent 2 weeks in Thailand giving keynote addresses at conferences and visiting universities this summer? Will Barratt, Ph.D.

 What is your social class of origin?  What is your current felt social class?  What is your attributed social class? Will Barratt, Ph.D. Lowest 20% 12 Middle 20% 34 Highest 20% 5

 What is the majority social class on the IU campus?  What are the markers of that social class? ◦ Clothing? ◦ Cars? ◦ Phones? ◦ Drinking? ◦ Attitude? Will Barratt, Ph.D.

 Eleanor and Edward – the Elite class  Ursula and Uwe – the Upper class  Misty and Markey – the Majority class  Louise and Larry – the Lower class  Whitney Page and W.P. – the Working class / Poverty class Will Barratt, Ph.D.

 What is it like on this campus when you are not in the social class majority? ◦ Relationships with faculty? ◦ Relationships with students? ◦ Do you try to ‘class pass’? Will Barratt, Ph.D.

 Social class is many things, from positional goods to income to education. Will Barratt, Ph.D.

 It is about economies and collective individual economic actions Will Barratt, Ph.D.

 It is about societies and collective individual social actions Will Barratt, Ph.D.

 It is about you and it is about me Will Barratt, Ph.D.

 Income is potential wealth  Wealth is having more than you owe  Are a truck driver with an $80,000 income and her nurse husband with a $50,000 income in the upper-middle class?  Is a professor with a $50,000 income in the middle-middle class? Will Barratt, Ph.D.

 People talk as though class is money.  People act as though class is prestige. Will Barratt, Ph.D.

 Social class of origin ◦ Where we came from  Current felt social class ◦ What we think of our selves today  Attributed social class ◦ What others think of us today Will Barratt, Ph.D.

 Economic capital  Cultural capital  Social capital  Academic capital  Others? Will Barratt, Ph.D.

 Occupations are prestige ranked based on our collective beliefs. Will Barratt, Ph.D.

 Income and occupational prestige are related to educational attainment.  Does getting a degree automatically change who you are?  29% of the US population over 25 has a BA or higher.  9% have a Master’s or higher. Will Barratt, Ph.D.

 Campus organizational structures  Student organizations  Formal and informal relationships with faculty Will Barratt, Ph.D.

 Props  Costumes  Blocking  Scripts Will Barratt, Ph.D.

 Class based norms are reinforced on campus by faculty, students, administrators, and staff. ◦ Who is the “good student”? Will Barratt, Ph.D.

 College admissions creates barriers for students who went to economically poor schools. ◦ Should we penalize people for being poor by putting them in poor quality public schools, telling them they won’t succeed, and creating barriers to higher education? Will Barratt, Ph.D.

 Campus norms reflect the majority class culture, usually upper-middle class.  Anyone not native to that culture, above or below, will experience class contrast.  Poor campus-student fit will result in students leaving Will Barratt, Ph.D.

 The best predictor of college success is family income.  High school student leaders become college student leaders.  Some people were born on 3 rd base and think they hit a triple. (Attributed to B. Switzer) Will Barratt, Ph.D.

 We are all middle class  The working class is disappearing  We can all just get along  Working harder will lead to a rise in class  Education is the key to upward class mobility  Everyone wants to get ahead Will Barratt, Ph.D.

 Upward or downward class mobility displaces people from their family of origin  Drugs and mental illness are important factors in downward class mobility  People with the most education make and enforce the rules of society – The ruling class  There are very few very rich – The elite class Will Barratt, Ph.D.

 If you have a Bachelor’s degree you are among the 29% most well educated people in the US, and among the 1% most well educated people on the planet.  If you have a Master’s degree you are among the 9% most well educated people in the US  If you have a PhD or professional degree you are among the 2% most well educated people in the US Will Barratt, Ph.D.

 Who is at risk on this campus? ◦ Anyone not in the majority ◦ Anyone but Misty and Markey  What can you do? ◦ Listen, share, respect  How can you respect someone’s social class or origin and help them socialize to the IU majority class? Will Barratt, Ph.D.

 How can you help Misty and Markey, from the majority class, to become aware of their social class?  How comfortable are you talking about your class background?  Write a classnography and share it Will Barratt, Ph.D.

 Questions?  Comments?  Do you want to know the secret handshake of the ruling class? Will Barratt, Ph.D.

 Will Barratt, Ph.D.  Will Barratt, Ph.D.