ABSTRACT
The concepts of privilege and exclusion are central to cultural studies today. They are so essential that they probably need no introduction since they are encountered not only in workshops on racial and gender prejudice but also in humbler settings such as farmer’s markets. The room was darkened; deep violet light and slow strobes replaced the ceiling fluorescents; tables and the projector cart were turned into a DJ stand and a serving center; tables were set in enclaves around a central dance floor. Music boomed, buzzed, and thudded: outside, patrons lined up, hemmed in by faux velvet ropes, in front of a class door guarded by a sufficiently brooding bouncer. The selective process of admission and administration of comps, as well as the misdirection of others, perfectly illustrated the concepts of privilege and exclusion.
