Blog #8

My case for this paper is that there is this agreed upon definition of how all the Ivy Leagues define the word "success". They seem to define a student as being successful if that student goes on to earn a high paying job that furthers their elite status or at least maintains it. This is supported by Karen Ho's "culture of smartness" a term she uses to describe the Ivy Leagues, their students and elite institutions such as Wall Street. The "culture of smartness" is the distinction between what the Elite constitute as smart versus what they constitute as intelligent. Being smart means that one is intelligent as well as wealthy. Those two traits are what the elite define as success. Karen Ho explains that this "culture of smartness" is not constrained to Ivy League schools but in fact escalates and is exacerbated in the world of elite professions. She explains that the "culture of smartness is central to understanding Wall Street. 'Smartness' means much more than individual intelligence; it conveys a naturalized and generic sense of the 'impressiveness,' of elite pinnacle status and expertise which is used to signify worthiness" (Ho, 167). Ho explains that yes, these students have to be smart but they have to be more than that. Being smart just isn't enough and the case that I am making is that this is an unacceptable reality and definition of the term success.