So, in case anyone forgot, I am currently pursuing my doctorate at a very big name school in the UK—you know, the one with all 
the medieval buildings with walls like castles… And this year, I have even gotten the chance to teach a group of undergraduate students, which has been great. Most of the time I love this place. I really do.
But there is just one thing that gets to me. It’s called elitism. I have to admit: this school is an elitist place. Now, I know this might come as no surprise: Havard, Yale- most famous universities- somehow hold this special reputation. However, I myself had never really felt this before- or at least not nearly to this extent- before I started teaching.
It’s hard to put a finger on exactly what is wrong. Is it the nice clothes people wear? Is it the fact that at lunch there are ‘staff’ who come and take away your used dishes? Is it the fact that at dinner there are two many forks and strange silver goblets to drink out of? None of these things are very wrong in and of themselves, and most could be shared by any group of profession people (well, probably minus the silver goblets). But underneath it all, I feel something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
I can honestly say that I never really encountered social classes before I came to England, at least not the way it is here. The difference was illuminated for me by Harry Potter. One day my friend explained to me: “Americans are always describing the Weasleys as ‘lower class’” she said, “but I had to explain to them: no, the Weasleys are upper class, they just don’t have any money.”
I honestly think that this example helped me to understand a true difference between our two cultures. In the US, everything is money, money, money. You either have it, or you don’t. But in the England, it’s something different. Sure, money still matters but so does something else, something like breeding. I think it comes from the influence of having a landed aristocracy for so long (and although they are less powerful now, it certainly still exists).
Although it is subtle, class difference is definitely there, and British are if anything way more tuned into this than I could ever be. It’s not just what you wear, it’s how you move, it’s what you like to eat, but most importantly: it’s your accent. Brits can tell everything from your accent: where you are from, did you a ‘posh’ school, etc. And it matters.
Honestly, I hate this. I hate the sense of entitlement and class that abounds here. The sense of being better than everyone else, something which if anything is only enhanced by attending a school like Oxford. Now, I am not trying to bash on England, or on my university– I could go on and on about the things I love about this place. But I have to say, this is something that really bothers me, and one of biggest fears is that elitism will slowly, subtly worm its way into me too.
That’s a hard one. I dislike elitism too. I appreciate that in the U.S. there’s this sense that anyone can move from a lower class into an upper class, just by working hard and earning money. Now, whether that’s actually possible these days is another question entirely, but at least we THINK we can do that. I may be a bit elitist or arrogant about myself, but it’s not because of my family name, where I come from, or anything like that. But does that make me any better than those obnoxious Brits?
I agree, Cindy. I think part of the reason that the British form of elitism is so apparent to me is simply because it is different from what I am used to. Probably there are various forms of American elitism around us every day and we are just so used to them that we can’t see them.