A home away from home': space, ritual and performance at an elite boys' school in England

Taylor, Emma (2024) A home away from home': space, ritual and performance at an elite boys' school in England. Sociology. ISSN 0038-0385

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Abstract

This article advances ethnographic understandings of the distinctive micro-practices of the formation of elites taking place within Fortune Park School, a private boys’ school in England. It focuses primarily on two related axes of the elite school environment; the layout, use and presentation of the school’s physical space, and an analysis of school ritual. I argue that the veneer of formality presented by the school is a ‘frontstage’ performance, disguising a network of interactions or ‘backstage’ performances that are characterised by a sense of informality or ease. Therefore, I show that the rituals taking place within the school buildings reflect a constant tension between formal and informal states of being. Learning to navigate this tension becomes part of the everyday experience of a Fortune Park School student, contributing towards the acquisition of valued forms of embodied capital that have been demonstrated as advantageous for those with it in their possession.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://journals.sagepub.com/home/SOC
Additional Information:	© 2024 The Author
Divisions:	LSE
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HM Sociology L Education
Date Deposited:	03 Jun 2024 12:30
Last Modified:	16 Sep 2024 19:51
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/123725

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