In the Realm of the Senses ― Social Aesthetics and the Sensory Dynamics of Privilege

This book charts new territory both theoretically and methodologically. Drawing on MacDougall’s notion of social aesthetics, it explores the sensory dimensions of privilege through a global ethnography of elite schools. The various contributors to the volume draw on a range of theoretical perspectives from Lefebvre, Benjamin, Bourdieu, Appadurai, Kress and van Leeuwen to both broaden and critique MacDougall’s original concept. They argue that within these elite schools there is a relationship between their ‘complex sensory and aesthetic environments’ and the construction of privilege within and beyond the school gates. Understanding the importance of the visual to ethnography, the social aesthetics of these elite schools are captured through the inclusion of a series of visual essays that complement the written accounts of the aesthetics of privilege. The collection also includes a series of vignettes that further explore the sensory dimension of these aesthetics: touch, taste—though metaphorically understood— sight and sound. These varying formats illustrate the aesthetic nature of social relations and the various ways in which class permeates the senses. The images from across the different schools and their surroundings immerse the reader in these worlds and provide poignant ethnographic data of the forces of globalisation within the context of elite schooling.

Johannah Fahey is Senior Research Fellow in the Faculty of Education at Monash University, Australia. Her research interests are located in the areas of education and global studies, and are informed by her expertise in cultural studies. She has a national and international reputation in the areas of intersectionality (gender, race and class), and cultural globalization and mobilities. She is the co-editor ofGlobalizing the Research Imagination (Routledge 2009); and co-author/author ofHaunting the Knowledge Economy (Routledge 2006) and David Noonan: Before and Now (Thames & Hudson 2004).

Howard Prosser researches and teaches at the Faculty of Education, Monash University, Australia. He has taught history in Australian secondary schools and universities. His research interests include Social Theory, History of Ideas, and Ethnography. Most recently he has been working on a study of political culture at an elite school in Argentina.

Matthew Shaw is a PhD candidate in the Education Faculty at Monash University, Australia. His interests lie in history including the history of sport as well as the place of sport in schools and society. His dissertation looks at the role sport has in a divided society and the way it is used to reinforce or break down boundaries.