Cultural, Political, and Social Dimensions of Identity among Student

Abstract

As various Iranian theorists emphasis, challenge between tradition and modernity is among the most affective phenomena on Iranian identity. Thus, in the present study, different dimensions of Student’s identity have been evaluated regarding this challenge. According to the main hypothesis, student’s identity is a hybrid of traditional and modern elements. Each dimension of identity (either modern or traditional) has been studied from the social, cultural, and political aspects. The study has been carried using questionnaire in 6 universities in Tehran –including University of Tehran, Shahid Beheshti, Allameh Tabatabaei, Sharif University of Technology, Al-Zahra, and University of Applied Science and Technology. Results show that in social and cultural aspects, modern elements of identity prevail, while in the political aspect it is the traditional elements that prevail. In another word, religion-politics blend and authoritarianism play crucial role in students’ identity rather than tendency to civil society. In addition, students’ identity is not simply a one-dimensional structure, but a bi-dimensional construction within which both modern and traditional elements are involved.

Keywords

• Hybrid Identity
• Identity
• Modern Elements
• Traditional Elements