Abstract

It has been argued that a transnational elite class is emerging, and that elite schools are ‘choreographing’ this process. This article nuances this developing theoretical framework with empirical data from an economically elite boarding school in Switzerland. It demonstrates that young men and women at this site linked to a global economy whilst refracting geopolitical tensions in their interactions with one another. This draws our attention to the multi-sited understandings that elite young people develop, despite the widespread assumption that in modern globalisation, wealth can break down cultural and juridical borders. This paper thus importantly contributes to an emerging discussion about the possibilities and constraints of transnational class formation at elite schools. In particular, it suggests that different kinds of elite schools may fill different kinds of roles when it comes to such processes.

摘要

有人认为，跨国精英阶层正在兴起，精英学校正在“编排”这一过程。本文使用来自瑞士一所经济上一流的寄宿学校的经验数据来细化这个不断发展的理论框架。它表明，这个地点的青年男女与全球经济联系在一起，同时又在彼此之间的互动中消除了地缘政治紧张局势。尽管人们普遍认为，在现代全球化中，财富可以打破文化和司法界限，但这吸引了我们注意精英青年发展的多方位理解。因此，本文对有关精英学校跨国班级形成的可能性和限制的新兴讨论做出了重要贡献。特别是，