https://www.jous.ir/ Journal of University Studies en daily 1 Wed, 29 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0330 Wed, 29 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0330 https://www.jous.ir/article_554.html Studying the films of the Holy Defense period gives us a lot of information about the discursive and non-discursive position of the university institution in this period. The subject of the present research is the study of how the university was discursively presented in the cinema of the Holy Defense period. The theoretical basis of the work has been Foucault's discourse analysis. Very few films during the Holy Defense period have depicted the subject and issues of the university. The three films "The Fifth Rider of Destiny", "The Little Bird of Happiness" and "In Search of a Hero" are among the few films that depict university subjects and have been selected for study in this research using a purposeful sampling method. The method of studying these films has been the discourse analysis of the text using the theoretical approach and discourse method of Michel Foucault. The findings of the study indicate that the Iranian cinema community adopted a strategy of silence regarding university issues during this period. The films even refrain from showing university spaces such as classrooms and show utmost restraint in producing images and content in this regard. In the films under study, we witness the formation of an ideological discursive order about the university institution. The film "The Fifth Rider of Destiny" introduces medical science as the pinnacle of sciences, and of course, the type of medicine that serves the goals of the revolution. In the film "The Little Bird of Happiness", an attempt is made to present psychological knowledge as an essential subject to society, and in the film "In Search of a Hero", the university system is placed on the front line of war and criticized. With this in mind, the cinema of the Holy Period, in line with the political conditions prevailing in that period, has taken a position on the university and has preferred to step within the circle and discursive order prevailing in society and politics of that period. https://www.jous.ir/article_556.html Grounded in Anthony Giddens’ theory of life politics, this study explores how broader social transformations shape the academic lifeworld and how university faculty negotiate the tensions arising from the entanglement of personal and professional spheres. The research aims to elucidate the processes through which academics, situated within structural and discursive forces, engage in reflexive self-examination and adopt strategies to reclaim agency and maintain a sense of professional and personal coherence. Empirical data were derived from two qualitative sources: personal narratives of lived experience and semi-structured interviews with ten assistant professors at Allameh Tabataba’i University, University of Tehran. Thematic analysis revealed that academic lifestyles are embedded within a complex and dynamic network of contextual, institutional, and ideological conditions that continuously shape everyday academic practices. To conceptualize this network of interactions, Bronfenbrenner’s polysystem theory was employed, encompassing five interdependent levels. The microsystem addresses individual relationships and routine practices; the mesosystem captures the interplay among multiple roles, including teacher, researcher, translator, and parent; the macrosystem reflects societal discourses and prevailing ideological forces; the exosystem considers educational, economic, and policy contexts that indirectly influence university functioning; and the chronosystem accounts for historical and structural transformations, such as war, inflation, and technological change, which shape both institutional and individual trajectories. Findings indicate that faculty demonstrate critical self-awareness regarding the imperatives of life politics, adopting strategies of negotiation, self-regulation, and boundary management to balance institutional expectations with personal aspirations. This suggests that the academic lifeworld is neither autonomous nor static; rather, it constitutes a contested and evolving field in which agency and structural constraints continuously interact. Academic identity, therefore, is fluid, continually renegotiated, and shaped through the reciprocal influence of internal reflexivity and external pressures. By integrating life politics theory with a polysystemic perspective, this study provides a nuanced understanding of how academics construct, sustain, and transform professional identities within the interrelated spheres of social, institutional, and personal life, highlighting the ongoing negotiation between autonomy and structural embeddedness. https://www.jous.ir/article_530.html One of the most influential arenas in shaping and transforming gender relations is the university. Like any other social institution, the university is grounded in relations of authority, social norms, and defined roles, and it reproduces the gender relations of the wider society. At the same time, it provides space for its members to critically reconsider learned values and attitudes. The central question of this study is: which forms of gender relations are reproduced in Iranian universities, and which types of femininity are reinforced by the university context. This research focuses on female university students’ understanding of both explicit and implicit gender relations within Iranian universities. It examines various aspects of student life, including classroom experiences and interactions with professors, engagement with university bureaucracy, participation in student associations, and interactions with male students. Employing a qualitative approach, data were collected through semi-structured interviews and focused group discussions with 43 female students across nine universities in Iran and were analyzed using thematic analysis. The research identifies two ideal types of universities: those with egalitarian norms—mostly public universities in Tehran characterized by intellectual traditions and vibrant student associations—and those with conservative norms, primarily located in peripheral or less central regions of the country. The formal university structure in Iran offers limited space for critical reflection on gender norms. Instead, both formal and informal relations in the classroom, professor-student interactions, and engagement with university bureaucracy—particularly the disciplinary system—consciously or unconsciously reinforce what R.W. Connell terms "emphasized femininity." In universities and faculties with conservative cultural orientations, this compliant femininity is highly esteemed. In contrast, in universities with more tolerant norms, hybrid femininity is encouraged. However, the overall academic system in Iran, aligned with the official cultural policy, is structured in a way that marginalizes and excludes resistant femininity. https://www.jous.ir/article_539.html Today, with the widespread presence of women in public arenas and in parallel with the change of their position, new definitions of femininity are being formed. Since the university is the center of gravity of social Changes, the purpose of this study is to know the perception of educated and non-educated women about femininity. For this purpose, a conceptual framework was developed by relying on sensitive concepts such as social identity, gender identity, rethinking, interactive identity, and hegemonic gender. In order to achieve the goal of the research, this study has tried to understand the perception of two groups of educated (16 people) and non-educated (10 people) living in the same area in Tehran about being a woman. The findings of this study indicate that uneducated women understand and experience femininity in a stereotyped manner and according to the concepts of patriarchal society. They live gender inequality as part of their everyday experiences and actively reproduce emphasized femininity. Although educated women are associated with a greater variety of discriminations and experience inequality in a systematic way, and on the other hand, their presence in social spaces brings them together with new spaces that challenge traditional definitions, but at the same time, they are condemned to comply with traditional norms and laws, and the necessary conditions and context for redefining themselves are not yet available for them. as a result, although various feminist theories and theories about the concept of identity emphasize the rethinking and modification of gender identities, the women participating in this study, despite being in the more general arenas of society, have not yet been able to modify and modify their identity and need There is more agreement and negotiation with society. https://www.jous.ir/article_540.html Since their establishment, universities in Iran have played an active role in social and political spheres, while simultaneously being influenced by transformations in these areas. Consequently, they have always been the focus of both micro- and macro-structures of power and subjected to various forms of control. In response to this process, students, as the main actors within academic spaces, have demonstrated diverse and multilayered forms of resistance. Among them, the position and role of female students hold special significance; not only do they confront the prevailing power structures within the university, but they also face gender relations. This dual challenge contributes to the particular complexity of their resistance experience. This study employs a critical ethnographic method to examine the forms of resistance exhibited by female students in Tehran’s universities from the mid-2010s until 2023. The main focus is on analyzing their actions and reactions against multiple forms of power — formal, institutional, structural, and even customary — within the academic environment. In this context, female students are divided into three groups: ordinary students, institutional activists, and non-institutional activists. Each group demonstrates a distinct type of resistance: “rejected resistance” among ordinary students, “resistance as praxis” among institutional activists, and “fluid resistance” among non-institutional activists. Simultaneously, by looking at the experiences of female students in the 2010s (corresponding to the 2011–2021 decade in the Iranian calendar), it becomes evident that many of these resistances took shape not only in formal and visible frameworks but also at the margins, within everyday relationships, or even through silence and selective passivity. The lived experiences of these students have challenged not only the official, male-centered narrative of the university but also the symbolic and hierarchical order governing academic spaces. They have opened new horizons for the possibility of subjectivity, agency, and the redefinition of the female student’s position. As a result, two types of subjectivities emerge within this framework of resistance: one is the solitary desiring subject, and the other is the collective subject embodied in a shared will. https://www.jous.ir/article_541.html Student dormitories play a crucial role in shaping students' academic, social, and psychological experiences. Students’ attitudes toward dormitory life directly influence their academic performance, mental health, and overall satisfaction. Given the growing student population and the importance of improving dormitory living conditions, this study aims to analyze students' perceptions and emotions about dormitory life based on real-world data collected from the social media platform X. We were specifically interested in knowing the importance of gender in shaping students’ perceptions of dormitory life. This research employed a data-driven approach based on content analysis of 3,046 Persian-language posts related to students’ dormitory experiences shared on platform X over two years. After data preprocessing—including removing irrelevant information, text normalization, and tokenization—sentiment analysis was conducted using the pre-trained model "HooshvareLab/bert-fa-base-uncased-sentiment-deepsentipers-multi." To identify semantic patterns, K-Means clustering was applied, with the optimal number of clusters determined using the Elbow Method, Silhouette Analysis, and Davies-Bouldin and Calinski-Harabasz indices. Data analysis revealed that male/female perceptions of dormitory life might be affected by different factors. Positive sentiments reflected strong friendships, social support, and fond memories of shared experiences, while negative emotions were associated with inadequate facilities, lack of privacy, cultural conflicts, and poor dormitory management. The clustering process identified eight meaningful clusters representing various aspects and emotions of dormitory life. Each cluster highlighted specific experiences, from social bonding and personal growth to frustration with dormitory policies and infrastructure shortcomings. The findings underscore the importance of improving dormitory infrastructure, ensuring transparent and efficient management, fostering social interactions, and enhancing security measures. Data-driven policy development can reduce current issues and increase student satisfaction. We found that gender is a crucial factor shaping student’s perception of dormitory life. https://www.jous.ir/article_542.html The lived experience of mother-students in family-friendly universities is a multi-layered and complex issue. This article, based on a conceptual framework grounded in the concepts of motherhood, role conflict and strain, and family-friendliness, aims to answer two key questions: What characteristics and indicators define a family-friendly university in the experience of countries at the forefront of this idea? And what is the relationship between family-friendliness and the experiences of mother-students in university practice? This study uses a qualitative approach and is based on semi-structured interviews with 19 mother-students. The data were analyzed through thematic coding and analysis. The findings highlight one main theme centered around the "relationship between the university and family-friendliness," with two sub-themes and six concepts. Some of the indicators in the family-friendly university policies are focused on women, while others focus on the family and some on broader gender-related concepts. Measures such as maternity leave, breastfeeding rooms, and pregnancy support are primarily designed based on the assumption of women’s caregiving roles, often referring to women and their gender roles rather than family or gender in a broader sense. Some of the existing indicators and measures in family-friendly universities belong to a broader discourse on gender and gender justice, such as the design of flexible educational programs for parents or facilitating men’s involvement in caregiving roles. However, the support provided by universities is often inadequate, scattered, and inconsistent, with little attention paid to the family structure or a broader gender perspective. The research findings indicate that the support universities offer in line with family-friendly policies is mainly focused on mother-students, but these supports are often insufficient, fragmented, and inconsistent. Most measures are limited to facilitating the role of motherhood and give little attention to the family structure or a broader gender perspective. For example, maternity leave is the main support provided in universities, but its implementation is not uniform. Distance learning and virtual education are still offered in a limited and informal way, and curriculum planning does not provide sufficient flexibility to accommodate the conditions of mother-students. https://www.jous.ir/article_543.html Despite the significant increase in the presence of women in Iran's higher education system, a large proportion of them assume the role of homemakers after graduation. This raises the fundamental question of what impact university education has on the quality of life of housewives. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to conduct a causal analysis of this impact and to compare the quality of life between two groups of married housewives in Tehran: those with and without university education. This research was designed based on the World Health Organization's theories of quality of life, social capital, and the relationship between education, empowerment, and the formation of expectations. This study was conducted using a survey method with a questionnaire administered to a sample of 400 housewives aged 25 to 59 in Tehran, selected through a multi-stage cluster sampling method. Data were analyzed using t-tests for mean comparison and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with AMOS software. The results of the Structural Equation Modeling indicated that university education has a direct negative effect (β = -0.175) on quality of life, but its indirect effect through mediating variables is positive and significant (β = 0.32). Consequently, the total effect of education on quality of life was found to be positive (β = 0.145). This positive impact is realized when education leads to an increase in decision-making power within the family, social capital, and socio-economic status. Furthermore, the results of the mean comparison test showed that the average quality of life was significantly higher in the group of women with a university education (84.14) compared to the other group (80.41). The findings suggest that university education, in itself, can negatively affect quality of life due to increased unmet expectations. However, when it leads to the genuine empowerment of women within the family and society, it becomes an effective factor in enhancing their quality of life. https://www.jous.ir/article_544.html The book Educated by Tara Westover narrates the author’s experiences growing up in a secluded and highly traditional family in Idaho. Westover, who was raised without formal identity registration and deprived of school education, decided in her adolescence to change the course of her life. This book depicts a journey from ignorance to self-awareness, from struggling against family traditions to achieving independence through education.  In addition to exploring Westover’s personal development, the book examines the impact of education on redefining identity, the family’s role in limiting women’s access to education, and the tension between religious beliefs and higher education. By describing life in a family that viewed formal education as a threat to religious beliefs and autonomy, the author illustrates the influence of religion, bias, and familial violence on individual and social growth. Despite these obstacles, Westover’s self-directed learning enabled her to enter Brigham Young University and continue her studies at Cambridge and Harvard. These memoirs demonstrate how education can help individuals break cycles of oppression and redefine their identity. Westover’s narrative goes beyond personal experience, reflecting broader challenges faced by women in achieving independence and access to knowledge. The book highlights how education not only transforms individuals but also reshapes relationships, beliefs, and social status. Emphasizing the power of learning, personal growth, and the role of education in discovering truth and building an independent future, Educated illustrates how education can be a tool for empowerment. Studies on religiosity and education, including research on changing students’ religious beliefs during university, indicate that higher education can challenge certain traditional beliefs but does not necessarily reduce religiosity. Additionally, works such as Hidden Family Currents and Diary of Sixteen Iranian Women, which present women’s personal narratives, show that education affects not only individual transformation but also family relationships, social beliefs, and identity construction. https://www.jous.ir/article_510.html The formation of traditional and new educational institutions in different societies, including Iran, is analyzed according to the needs and requirements of the society. Religious education in the form of a seminary is a long-standing educational tradition in Iranian society, which has established relations with new educational content and structure with the arrival of modern education in Iran. Sepeh Salar School and later Shahid Motahari High School is one of the institutions of religious education along with the education of new sciences, which has experienced some changes since its establishment in To maintain itself as a religious school and at the same time establish relations with the university. For this purpose, literature and necessary actions have always been done by the government and especially the first person of the country who is in charge of the school, in the field of opinion and action. The purpose of this research is to review the experience of Sepeh Salar school based on the relationship between this institution and the government in different departments. This research has investigated the genealogy of this religious school with the method of historical analysis. The findings of the research show that Sepehsalar school was established in connection with the founder, Mirza Hossein Khan Sepehsalar, the desire of sovereignty and the requirements of Iranian society, and it served the purpose of combining traditional and modern education in different periods. Accordingly, it has experienced changes in the structure and content of education while maintaining its foundation.After the Islamic Revolution, Sepeh Salar School, under the title of Shahid Motahari High School, was recognized as a favorable environment for the objective of the unity of the district and the university, as it provided such a function exceptionally in the pre-revolution era. Sepeh-Salar School and then Shahid Motahari High School significantly achieved this unity in two cognitive and structural dimensions. https://www.jous.ir/article_519.html The Legitimacy of Conflict in the book "Conflict of Faculties" Kant discusses the relationship between the three faculties of theology, law and medicine with the faculty of philosophy in the book Conflict of Faculties and explains the legitimate and illegitimate conflicts between them. The subject of the book is conjunction of theoretical and practical wisdom in the university. A legitimate conflict is a conflict in which freedom forces are placed on one side. Kant himself specifies that legitimate conflict should be established through the establishment of a faculty of philosophy in any university; but in our situation (in current Iranian academy) the important question is that despite the establishment of all kinds of philosophical faculties and schools, is there something like a conflict between faculties? Are our philosophical faculties looking for truth and freedom? How can this conflict be legitimized? In this article, I am trying to have a reading of the book Conflict of Faculties that is applicable to our situation. This reading is especially related to psychoanalysis and the struggle of psychological forces. One of the conditions for the legitimacy of an academic conflict is that it takes place in the university itself. The conflict between us begins and becomes legitimate when it has flowed inside the (academic) individual who, according to Kant himself, is the beginning of every culture. With such an attitude, we arrive at a modern interpretation of the university; according to this interpretation, the modern age is not a transformed era. Therefore, modern institutions are also established in their independence and break from past eras, and can pursue their functions in realizing progress. Keywords: university, legitimate conflict, the legitimacy of the modern age, secularism, psychoanalysis Keywords: university, legitimate conflict, the legitimacy of the modern age, secularism, psychoanalysis Keywords: university, legitimate conflict, the legitimacy of the modern age, secularism, psychoanalysis https://www.jous.ir/article_507.html New political science has a close relationship with liberal democratic values ​​contained in the common sense of new western societies. In other words, the objectivity of the new political science depends on the fact that the values ​​of political renewal have already established a strong place for themselves in the center of common sense of a political society, because according to Aristotle, the "face" of the new political science can only be seen through the values ​​of renewal. It is political that can make the new political science have objectivity as its "material". Paying attention to this point can also explain the lack of subject matter of political science in Iran; A situation that is mainly referred to as the inapplicability of political science in Iran.In this article, with regard to this preliminary statement, we try to briefly show that the placelessness of political renewal values ​​in How did the center of Iranian common sense cause political science to remain irrelevant? And then in detail, we will focus on Javad Tabatabai's efforts to overcome this problem.Our argument is that Javad Tabatabai, in writing the history of political thought in contemporary Iran, especially in his book on the theory of the rule of law in Iran, and finally in his latest work entitled Nation, State of the Rule of Law (inquiry into the statement of text and tradition), somehow Aware and aware of the importance of this issue, in addition to trying to convey "introduction" about this history to his audience, he has undertaken a more important task: Objectification to new political science through a rhetorical strategy to defend the values ​​of political renewal in the field of common sense of Iranian society. Tabatabai's rhetorical strategy is to revive the debate between the ancients and the moderns. For this, he should simultaneously break the alliance of "ideologists" with the bearers of ancient values ​​contained in the hard theological-political core and try to rely on a rhetorical device that reminds of the efforts of modernists such as Mirzayousef Khan Mushaldar al-Dawlah.