Document Type : Scientific Research Manuscript

Author

• H. Taheri Kia

PhD of Cultural Policy from Iranian Institute for Cultural and Social Studies, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

This article studies the experience of fear of confronting the political state at the Iranian university. From the early days of establishing the university in Iran, Iranian university has been engaging in the politics and triggering political movement. In other words, student political movement, in Iranian contemporary political history, is a key term. Hence, the previous researches, in this field, just consider the historical approach, and then there is a lack of deep and qualitative examination which analyzes the current features of the political state at the university. Thus, in this article, analyzing the political state connects to the recent Iranian political approaches and its changes. Our study is after the green movement of 2008 and security encounters with students. Therefore, for students, based on those days and experiences, involving in political state is with fear and frustration. For examining this, we studied the University of Poly Techniques, Faculty of Social science at Allameh Tabataba'i University and Faculty of Medical Science at Tehran University.  We conducted deep interview with 50 of political and non-political students. The object of the article is to answer how the fear of the political state at the university, for students, does make sense? And, how political student activists have encountered the fear? Consequently, students’ families are the basic factor to produce fear of the political situations, for the historical facts proves the political actions at the university threaten students’ future opportunity to get a job and even continue studies. Besides, in the everyday life at university, students alert each other to the adventures of the political engagements. But, when we talk about political state, mostly, it is about radical and reformist approaches and not those conservative practices which are supported by hardliners. Also, those political students who passed the gate of fear to the political sphere and doing political actions are like a catalyzer to persuade and stimulate other students to pass from the gate of fear. 

Keywords

• fear
• political subjectivity
• university
• student
• political state