The phenomenology of a new social category: The case of the gifted disadvantaged in Israel

This article deals with the complex conjunction of official classifications and with the phenomenological experience of those classifications in everyday life. It does so by presenting a case study of “The Boarding School for the Gifted Disadvantaged” in Israel. This school has proposed a new life category, the “gifted disadvantaged,” which was previously unknown in the discursive and practical fields in Israel, though closely linked to widespread ethnic classifications in Israel. The main findings of this case study show that the boundary work engaged in by interviewees differs from that which is widespread in research on boundaries. Accordingly, this article identifies three sets of in-group boundary work: between types of self (former and current selves); between types of personal nature (first nature and second nature); and between ethnic intellectuals and everyday ethnics. In conclusion, this article examines the finding of this case study in relation to the research on boundaries in cultural sociology.