Abstract
This article examines the construction of teacher identity within social spaces through a Foucaultian analytics. It investigates how modern institutions, particularly schools and offices, shape teacher identity by exerting control and creating ideal, obedient subjects. While Foucault posits the possibility of resistance to this process, the dynamics of power and resistance in contemporary society have significantly evolved. The study focuses on male teachers in Khoshkebijar. Employing participatory observation and in-depth interviews, data was collected using maximum variation sampling and analyzed until theoretical saturation. Findings reveal that despite the diversity of the teaching community and the complexities of the Iranian educational system, schools exercise power over teachers through mechanisms akin to Foucault's disciplinary society. These include spatial confinement, individualization, hierarchical organization, strict timetables, and surveillance. The research concludes that the interplay between social spaces and individuals, shapes identity, emphasizing the formative role of modern institutions in constructing the contemporary self.
Keywords: identity, teacher subject, official space, power, resistance.
 
Introduction
Unlike traditional societies, modern societies are fluid and open, never settling for stability and stagnation. The transformations of modernity have altered some of the most personal and intimate aspects of our lives, both externally and internally. These new ways of living have distanced us in an unprecedented manner from all forms of traditional order. In contrast to the pre-modern era, where individuals derived their identity from traditions, the modern human is defined as independent of cultural attachments. With the onset of the Enlightenment, the concept of identity faced fundamental challenges and crises for the first time; to the extent that Michel Foucault believes the modern individual is someone who seeks to recreate themselves anew. Undoubtedly, modern identity is to some extent a conscious choice of individuals, but at the same time, it is determined by a complex web of intertwined social, cultural, political, and economic factors. One of the defining factors and the main context of identity in the modern era is the influence of modern institutions such as schools, the military, universities, hospitals, prisons, and so on. Foucault uses the concept of disciplinary society to explain the techniques through which institutions create the new human. He argues that institutions train subjects instead of using direct force. However, according to Foucault, humans are not entirely passive beings; they have some capacity to resist institutions, and this interplay of power and resistance is the main factor shaping modern identity.
 
Materials & Methods
In the present article, a critical ethnographic research method has been employed, which is a qualitative approach. The target population consists of all male teachers in the city of Khalkhal. Purposeful sampling continued until theoretical saturation was reached, and data were collected through semi-structured interviews and library research methods. Additionally, to enhance the reliability of the findings, the living conditions of the interviewees were also examined alongside the semi-structured interviews, allowing for the information provided by the interviewees to be utilized with greater confidence. Furthermore, all information from the interviewees was recorded, enabling other researchers to verify the relevant data.
 
Discussion & Result
The findings of the research indicate that according to Michel Foucault's concept of the disciplinary society, the educational institution in Iran exerts power over individuals through key categories such as the distribution of individuals in space, control of activities, educational mechanisms, and several subcategories like fencing, individualization, scheduling, precise timing, template models, and surveillance, among others. Additionally, the results show that individuals are not completely passive in the face of power dynamics; they engage in various methods to confront stereotypes, resist surveillance, challenge documentation, and more.
 
Conclusion
From all the findings and documents, it can be concluded that the dialectical confrontation between social space and the subject shapes behavior and, in general, the identity of the subject. In other words, the modern subject is a function of a constant encounter with modern institutions such as schools, military barracks, factories, and so on. However, it should also be noted that, as Foucault emphasizes throughout his project on power, the subject is not passive in this power circuit and, through practices such as confronting stereotypes, opposing the overarching order, and challenging assigned roles, disrupts this dominant flow of power and partially shapes its own identity. To understand who we are today and how we have come to be, we must set aside reductionist methods because, in the modern era, identity is no longer a static matter but rather a completely dynamic and fluid one. To answer the question of who we are, we must continuously engage with our own essence and the processes of our formation using the concepts of thinkers like Michel Foucault and through systematic and broad-ranging research.