Rite of Institution Through Global Citizenship

In The State of Nobility, Pierre Bourdieu outlines the factors that are integrated within elite and prestigious institutions, which create the basis for the perpetuation of societal dominance through education. Bourdieu specifically analyzes that, “… a rite of institution aimed at producing a separate, sacred group; whether, in other words, the technical functions of elite schools does not effectively disguise their social function as agents of ritual exclusion, to give a seemingly rational justification to the ceremonies of consecration through which societies claiming to be rational produce their nobility” (Bourdieu, 73). Bourdieu essentially defines prestigious institutions as foundations for the wealthy and elite to maintain their societal hierarchy through the “functions” that only the elite have access to.

  At the Everdeen school, these desires to perpetuate the cycle of elitism and produce students who belong to the highest societal hierarchy is maintained through the institution’s practice of “global citizenship”. Throughout the interviews of students who were currently attending Everdeen, one clear overarching theme was prevalent. In each interview, the students described the school’s emphasis on creating “global citizenship”. How does the Everdeen school represent Bourdieu’s understanding of the “sacred group” through the implementation of global citizenship? Is global citizenship only practiced in elite spaces? 

Everdeen works to be an institution that develops leaders for future generations, which means that in order to further superiority over other members of society, it needs to provide students with the skills and cultural capital that is needed to thrive within elite spaces. This inherited form of cultural capital is crucial in the separation of the from the non elite. One specific example of the school instilling these understandings within its students is through global citizenship and the experiences that the institution wants the students to have internationally. In traditional public schools, students may be exposed to global understandings through curriculum, but their lived experiences may be drastically different, and these lived experiences are most often reserved for the elite. At Everdeen, students are compelled to have international engagement, as well as having global curriculum and events present at the school. One student described that “…there is a big push for us to like go out and do things in a global sense and there is a lot of opportunity for us here if we want to…and I think we have a lot more chance, then kids in other schools, maybe, and I think they teach us to be really well rounded and to understand the environment that we are in”. As the interview continues, the student describes the many opportunities that the Everdeen school provides for global engagement through study abroad programs and international events at the school. Within the school’s promotion of global citizenship through experience learning and curriculum, there is also a strong emphasis on “social justice”. Social justice is defined by the distribution of wealth, opportunities and resources throughout the social hierarchy. By practicing social justice within the educational setting, it establishes the understanding that there is one social group that is above others, one that is more privileged than the rest and able to provide leadership to groups that are below them. This exemplifies Bourdieu’s idea that prestigious institutions further establish the “sacred group” which is perpetuated through Everdeen’s continual integration of global citizenship throughout their educational practices.