Phenomenology of Place in Student's Life-World of Tehran University

The student’s Life-world, as the reference groups of community in the future, must be deeply explored and described in all its complexities, dimensions, elements and details. Therefore, the place of informal interactions of students as part of this Life-world is important in this study. The main purpose of the present study is that describe the students' mental perception of their informal interaction’s place deeply. Descriptive phenomenological method was used to achieve students' subjective meaning. For this purpose, in-depth interviews were conducted with 21 students of Tehran University from different collegiate. In descriptive phenomenology, what is recommended as a method of analysis is the Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen method. Students have a variety of mental meanings, including security, freedom and convenience, dynamics and ease of interaction between girls and boys, the survival of friendships, the loss of time and purpose, increasing of friends and they also point to a break from the formal system and its oversight of friendly gatherings and interactions within the university. Students are looking for other places and third places as places outside of formal systems or political machines. That is, they cross over well-known places to which norms and rules are defined, and choose new places that fit their lives and their needs and communicate with their friends. The presence of students in places seems to have all the features of a third place. None of them play a host role, and they all feel comfortable. Third place helps to develop their social network and build new friendships with students. Entertaining conversation is the most important way to distinguish third place from other places. Student places are accessible, like the other third places, and as students' mental perceptions have shown, availability is one of the most important features of students to create friendly interactions. Students in their friendly gatherings inside or outside the university are looking for fun times, conversations, laughter and entertainment.