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SUMMARY:Social Mobility: Chavs\, NEETs and McJobs - Garth Stahl and Loic M
 enzies
DTSTART:20120501T153000Z
DTEND:20120501T163000Z
UID:TALK34130@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:17302
DESCRIPTION:This talk explores the aspirations of a group of twenty-three 
 working class boys from South London. It responds to a context of persiste
 nt ‘educational underachievement’ on the part of this group and a disc
 ourse which frequently labels them as having ‘low aspirations’ or inde
 ed no aspirations at all. By comparing four different ‘strands’ of asp
 iration which emerge from our data\, we show that the boys’ aspirations 
 are rooted in their gendered and classed identities. We argue that the cur
 rent dominant neo-liberal discourse prioritises a view of aspirations that
  is competitive\, economic and status based and employs educational\, occu
 pational and material aspirations as proxies for these priorities. In cont
 rast\, our participants’ were guided by deeply held but subjective views
  of a ‘good’ life and articulated their life plans around what we term
  ‘moral aspirations’. Educational\, occupational and material aspirati
 ons failed to act as effective proxies for these priorities which favoured
  notions of loyalty (to oneself and others)\, friendship\, family and patr
 iotism. As a result\, the boys were forced to undergo complex ‘identity 
 work’ in order to reconcile competing and contrasting notions of aspirat
 ion. \n\nThis talk will be followed by a showing of 'Educating Rita' as pa
 rt of the EED Film Series.
LOCATION: Donald McIntyre Building\, Faculty of Education\, 184 Hills Road
 \, Cambridge\, CB2 8PQ
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