Navigating Social Integration: A Qualitative Study of Nouveau Modern Students at IIUI

Abstract

This qualitative study examines the subjective experiences of social integration among female students belonging to "nouveau modern" backgrounds at the International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI). Employing a qualitative research strategy, the study examined how such students navigate identity, belonging, and social adjustment in a traditional academic environment. Based on in-depth interviews with 22 self-identified progressive/modern IIUI students, the study thematically coded data regarding peer relationships, cultural negotiation, symbolic consumption, and media influence. The research findings identify tension between social conformity to institutional standards and the articulation of real selves, with problems of class discrimination, peer exclusion, and social conformity to dominant cultural signifier such as dress, dress codes, language, and way of life. This study contributes to the ongoing debate about cultural hybridity, social conformity, and identity formation in Pakistani higher education, calling for academically diverse spaces that recognize and value socio-cultural diversity.

Keywords: Cultural Adaptation, Social Integration, Conformist, Code Switching, Hybrid Identity, Visual Modernity, Symbolic Consumption, Linguistic Blending