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The experience of shifting from one social class to another-from a dominated group to a dominant group-raises the question of how the upwardly mobile person relates to his/her group of origin. Stepping into the Elite traces the particular ways in which upwardly mobile people in India, France, and the United States-countries embodying three distinct stratification systems-make sense of this change.

Given that people draw upon specific cultural tools or repertoires to analyse their world and situate themselves in it, Naudet identifies the extent to which narratives of ‘success’ vary from one country to another. For instance, he explains that while stories in a caste-ridden society such as India hinge on the preservation of bonds with the original class, in France, they are centered on the idea that an upwardly mobile person is alienated from all social groups. In the United States, on the other hand, the rhetoric of success is tinged by the ardent belief in the American society being classless. A sociological journey in three different cultural contexts, this book deftly ties the exploration of questions regarding transformation of social identity and views on being successful.

Contents: Introduction. Part One: 1. Redefining the analytical framework of the experience of social mobility. 2. Comparing the experience of social mobility in France, the United States and India. Part Two: 3. Succeeding without betraying: caste and counter-cultural challenges of social mobility in India. 4. Unquestioned success: class, race and meritocracy in the United States. 5. Mobility haunted by class: etiquette, distinction and hierarchies in France. 6. National specificities: defining the background of origin. Conclusion: Instituted ideology-a new concept in response to the challenges of international comparison. Appendices. Index.