I want to study upper class culture. I come from a shitty suburb

honestly any nonfiction books, just pick one read a little every day and when you finish pick up another. in a few years of reading a couple non-fiction books a month the world will look different

>>3308206
Yep, that's already been happening. I just finished with Nietzsche. My plan next is to read Foccault and study the financial system.

But I'm looking more for culture - references, values, speech patterns, etc.

>>3308259
Foccalt? Nah m8, if you want to get into post modern where you can signal to you're borgie friends you need to read Sartre

>>3308271
kek

File: IMG_2440.gif (1MB, 480x358px) Image search: [Google]

1MB, 480x358px

>>3308259
>Foucault

>>3308259
It sounds like you're some spy infiltrating a closed group. How upper class are we talking here?

From my experience everyone from working class to upper middle class can all come together over a few beers. It's the super rich and super poor that I have trouble bonding with.

>asking on a site full of mentally disordered provincial poorfags

>>3308334
We're talking about moving from a suburb of McMansions to a place that fully embraces "global" culture. Even the poor people here have more class than the rich kids from my town.

>>3308381
In America nobody has class

I'm from a Philadelphia "Quaker" family and while I'm not wealthy I have been surrounded by almost every subgroup of rich people in N. America, France, and the UK. Ask me anything

Obviously This Side of Paradise is a good look into the not quite rich socialites constantly on the periphery of upper class society and social circles.

>>3308387
Go to the coasts.

>>3308417
I live on the coast (Washington state). It's still a plebeian shithole.

>>3308389
I'm a friend in Philadelphia too, hello!

OP-
I can recommend a comparative study of upper class society in Philadelphia and Boston

Puritan Boston and Quaker Philadelphia by E. Digby Baltzell

Baltzell was a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and was credited with popularizing the acronym WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant). His work shed new light on the ruling elite of America, changing public perceptions of American society and history.

>>3308461
I thought of another book, the Perennial Philadelphians, about upper class society in Philadelphia

The Perennial Philadelphians tells the story of the city's inherited aristocracy—of Wanamakers and Drexels, of Biddles and Cadwaladers. Drawing on history, genealogy, politics, economics, the fine arts, private diaries, and the impressions and anecdotes of myriad living witnesses, Nathaniel Burt paints a fascinating portrait of Old Philadelphians. He traces the succession of a dynasty of doctors or lawyers, explores the country club scene, and takes us to regattas on the Schuylkill, fox hunts in Radnor, and horse shows in Devon.

First published in 1963, this classic text has lost none of its timeliness. An adept social commentator, Burt cuts aside the centuries-old protective coloration in which Old Philadelphians have wrapped themselves, and reveals who these people are and how they manage to perpetuate themselves from generation to generation

>>3308457
New York
DC
The center of center of most cities
Certain suburban zip codes, mostly East Coast and Cali
The areas around the right military bases
Historic centers (the only places in America that actually look nice)

That's basically it for America's global class. Most of Washington State is decidedly not that

>>3308461
not quite related to the thread but have you read Meeting House and Counting House by Tolles?

What part of the city?

>>3308482
lol, I just got out of Phili. I'm not going back to that shithole

>>3308501
the Philadelphia social scene is cozy as hell, I can tell you're middle class ;)

>>3308491
>Cali
>class
All of my kek. You should honestly travel, any generic city in Northern Italy alone has more class and culture than all of America put together. The American "elites" are nothing more than uplifted Anglo peasants and shit shovelers or descendants of rootless jewish underclass haplessly trying to emulate their European betters.

>>3308509
The Philadelphian upper class is all resent, nostalgia, and sentimentality.

I'll pass.

>>3308543
you're projecting if you actually believe that and will never be able to peer into the minds and attitudes of the upper class if you continue to project

>>3308515
Only the right zip codes.

>>3308549
sure

>>3308550
No.

>>3308493
I have not read it, but would like to

Northeast, you

File: unimpressed classy suit reaction.jpg (9KB, 210x274px) Image search: [Google]

9KB, 210x274px

>>3308259
People are complaining about Foucault? The main problem I'm seeing is with
>I just finished with Nietzsche
Let me guess, you haven't read any other serious philosophy pre-Enlightenment? A lot of people make the problem of reading Nietzsche first because it either sounds dark and deep or they're listening to some philosophy casuals said regarding him.

You want to become connected with high culture? The path is easy to know, but difficult to proceed on. http://eagleforum.org/educate/1997/june97/list.html
Go through this extremely short list, and simply start reading what interests you. With time you will get what you want, and so much more.

>>3309087
I'm from Lower Moreland but I'm currently in Fishtown

File: download.jpg (13KB, 203x248px) Image search: [Google]

13KB, 203x248px

>>3308166
>I want to study upper class culture. I come from a shitty suburb and I'm going to a pretty good school, but I do NOT fit in.
You sound American. Your upper class culture is probably satanism, cocaine and kiddy-fiddling. They're so far above you that you can't see them.

What you're looking for is middle-class culture, which ranges from western canon greats to pretentious hipster shit. It basically covers all books actually because the working class don't read books that aren't by Joel Osteen and the Underclass can't read anything longer than a twitter post.

If you want to get into the bourgeouis American signalling game then you may as well start with the greeks.

File: ½ un-demi by Mihoko Saito, Tokyo - Woman's Dress.jpg (75KB, 636x1500px) Image search: [Google]

75KB, 636x1500px

Define upper class culture. Some wealthy folks have great taste, others have terrible taste.

I see two potential options:

* The shotgun, "best guess" options, which would include the classics (Greeks, Romans, etc), a branch or two of modern philosophy, an understanding of modern art and its history (~1850-present), and a hobby or two that is commonly upper-class (wine, sailing, niche historical artifacts, etc). My interpretation of "upper class culture" is an awareness of many cultures/disciplines/histories, so the best answer I could give in that regard is to learn as much as possible and be well-spoken about them.

* Choose an "upper class" person you'd like to emulate, then do as much research on them as you can. Chances are they will list a school they went to (where you can steal their curriculum), books they enjoy (duh), or hobbies and interests (research as well). From there you can hop from person to person until you have a more articulate understanding of what "upper class" means to you.

>>3309135
>http://eagleforum.org/educate/1997/june97/list.html
This is for retards who don't know what else to do with themselves

You assholes are useless

Start with the Greeks, go from there.

There isn't really one. The American ruling elite aren't some kind of cultured aristocracy. I've been to their parties on the Upper West Side and all they're talking about is Beyonce and Game of Thrones, it's just that have more money and know more important people than you do.

Red pill time kids:
The most upper class thing you can do is own LAND.
You can literally be penniless but if you have 10,000 prime acres you can procure everything you need to love lavish from the land. The reason people lose their estates is usually because they have their money tied up elsewhere not because the estate is unprofitable.
Even the things associated with luxury are related to land ownership:
Leather goods come from ranches.
Wine comes from vast vineyards.
Having a boat goes hand in hand with having waterfront property.
Kings and Queens are just landlords basically and armies arent too different from the lardass on the golfcart looking for kids smoking weed.

All that intellectual bullshit stinks of fake-rich people. The highest class of people respect a farmer working a fuck huge corn field more than some fag in loafers who pays a million dollars a year to live in MUH CITY but does own a piece of propety with a decent well.

>>3310031
*typo doesnt have a well

>>3308389
I hated This Side of Paradise. Main character always asked for more but never worked for it because he's an entitled bag of niggers.

>>3309192
Have you read Meeting House and Counting House? I've ever seen like 2 copies, usually in used bookstores

You are born into class, philistine. Just stay in you belong.

yeah lol read books about philosophy, that will totally help you fit in with "upper class" people. That's basically what all of their socialising is based on.


No you idiot. upper class people don't all discuss or behave on the basis of philosophy texts.

Pronounce your words, get a guide for table manners , identify the common conversation patterns (when anecdotes are introduced, typical topics for socialising, length of anecdotes, humor patterns and classification), get lessons for tennis or whatever seems to be the most common social sport

the most common literary references people will probably drop will be from shakespeare so when you've done the above you can read shakespeare for extra points.

the best strategy overall is to find one friend who likes you and seems socially accepted and study and emulate him and analyse the dfferences in your behaviours.

overall people who are likeable and can socialise get accepted in any environment eventually, at least in a "we can hang out as friends" way.

there might if they're very snotty be a higher level of acceptance where theylike you as a friend but still don't see you as "one of them" and think that you woudn't know how to behave if you were invited to a black tie event or to a yacht club or country club and might embarrass them.
And so to get that higher level of acceptance (which there is a good chance might not exist since it would only apply to a snobby subsection of a very wealthy , upper class and established group) you need the right manners and pronunciation.

t. upper class guy who went to elite highschool

>>3308166
dress better

>>3308259
If you have to pretend you're upper class, then you will never be upper class

>>3310862
also there are some novels that give you n insight into how upper class people behave and their mindset. Brideshead revisited was a classic but would be out of date now

ou can probably find somewhat more contemporary material

>>3310038
that's the point I was getting at, I really don't like F. Scott Fitzgerald or any of those Bohemian motherfuckers honestly. Overrated and a poor example of American literature. But This Side of Paradise perfectly illustrates a phenomenon I've ran into plenty of times

There's "rich people", who in general tend to be highly social and decent people. Memes aside, most genuinely wealthy people are way more socially aware and active than middle class-types. But their extended social circles pick up a lot of people that aren't quite wealthy but now how to play the came, socialites and social climbers. The character and especially his mother in this Side of Paradise, and Fitzgerald from what I know, is one of these. He's not really well-off in the book but manages to avoid all types of work and lifestyles that normal people are involved in because of his extended associations with the well-off

These types flood media, art, and academia. They're just as much a part of the upper class culture as actually wealthy types. They know how to play the game
>>3310832
Yeah, my dad has a copy
I've been thinking about playing around with a small publishing company as there's so many books I want but can't find copies of and that show up on Amazon for +$500

>>3308166
chew with your mouth closed, dont ask autistic.

>>3308166
Be yourself and be confident in it.

>>3312212
Depending what you want ebay may be a way to go

I like a lot of niche unusual books too. Sometimes you can get things that way

Since you live here you may try Port Richmond Books, on Richmond. It's a former movie theatre the owner turned into a bookstore

I also recommend Mostly Books, on Bainbridge St. The owner is very nice, was in there last week

>>3308515
>italian proles have more class than any American

How to tell someone you have never been to italy: the post

>>3308166
Jokes on you, the upper class invented an elaborate ever changing secret code of behavior known as "manners" for every conceivable occasion or interaction to instantly recognize any interlopers