Distinguished Spaces: Elite Schools as Cartographers of Privilege

Abstract

In this chapter Kenway and Prosser examine the social aesthetics of two elite schools in the Global South. Focusing on the role of space within the creation of social aesthetics, they draw on Lefebvre’s notion of the ‘spatial triad’, particularly ‘spatial practices’, to describe the historical and social processes taking place inside and outside the school gates. This relationship between the school and its wider social context is crucial since an elite space is defined by those places beyond it. In South Africa and Argentina, elite schools signal the flavor of their preferred clientele through their location in expensive, expansive, fastidiously groomed, quiet suburbs. These are well away f..