Unjustified Life and Subjectivity: A Critical Study of Tenancy in Isfahan City

IntroductionHuman beings have numerous needs and try to satisfy them in different ways. One of their most important needs is shelter. Having a shelter is very important since having a proper house has been stated as a right for every Iranian family in the 31st principle of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Also, providing a minimum shelter for all Iranian citizens has been considered as the duty of the government in the 29th and 42nd principles of the constitution. Housing has an important role in the economy of a country and since a house is not transportable, it has a capital value that can affect any country’s development. Owning a house has become more difficult in recent years due to economic fluctuations and households’ decreased purchasing power. Hence, renting a house has become a common phenomenon. In fact, both the number of tenants and even duration of renting are increasing. Meanwhile, each social class may be involved in different levels of intensity related to this social problem. Therefore, it can be said that the difficulties imposed on the middle- and lower-class households have more intensities. This procedure is more prominent in larger cities, especially in Esfahan where new marginal towns are being formed. Accordingly, this study aimed to investigate the role of unequal political and economic relations in this process and show the issues and complications of the mentioned groups of people. Materials and MethodsThe present research followed the method of critical ethnography with Carspecken's approach. Critical ethnography has been widely used as a study method for dealing with the issues of low-income groups in recent years. This approach aims at redefining some social situations and phenomena by revealing the hidden hypotheses and utilizing the principles of critical theories with the aim of making a link between social phenomena and socio-historical events.Carspecken's 5-stage approach starts with non-participatory field observations so that the researcher first acts as an anonymous observer in the research field and makes initial notes according to his/her observations. The second step is to do a prior structural analysis. In this stage, the researcher organizes his/her in-filed observations and provides an initial analysis of them. He/she raises his/her interpretations in the form of basic categories by using an etic approach and then prepares the conditions to enter the 3rd stage that involves a clear conversation