Furtive lifeworld; A Case Study of Female Students from Yazd

Universities play a crucial role in shaping the social identities of students by providing a cultural space for identity formation. This process varies based on the students' original culture and their experiences within the university setting. This study focuses on exploring the identity experiences of female students from Yazd at the university. It aims to understand how these students, with their specific backgrounds and upbringing, perceive and construct their identities within the university environment as a new cultural space. By using a grounded theory approach, the research analyzes the identity experiences of female students from Yazd who attended universities in Tehran and Yazd. The study also examines how school, peer groups, family, and the Yazd community influence the identities of these students. The main concept identified is the idea of identity bifurcation. The findings reveal that Yazdi girls construct their identity in two distinct spaces: the internal (private) and the external (public). Their agency is primarily expressed in the internal space, where, while adhering to the collective norms of Yazdi culture and family, they engage in unique and unconventional experiences in their private world.