Farzad Amoozegar is interested in how the judgment of beauty in Iranian traditional music (mūsīqī-e sonnatī) incorporates an array of ethical queries conveyed through a language heavily entangled with Islamic revelations, mystical beliefs and traditional values. His dissertation and publications examine how the study of ethics and beauty sheds light on the master-disciple relationship, which explores the importance of moral education and how the knowledge of music is transmitted. His writings highlight the cultural nuances associated with music-making and the art of improvisation. In his examinations of ethics, he explores the tensions derived from the intersectionality of religious practices and cultural obligation, and traditional values and artistic freedom.

Amoozegar specializes in the fields of psychological and linguistic anthropology. His doctoral project centered on extensive ethnographic research of Syrian refugee children, exploring their coping mechanisms, healing modalities, and cognitive/emotional experiences. He investigates how Islamic ethics and Sūfī ideals provide critical insight into the children’s perceptions of the good, wellbeing and happiness in the context of a traumatic past.

Amoozegar is an experienced performer of the Iranian musical instruments tār—a double-bowl-shaped six-string instrument—and setār—a pear-shaped four-string instrument.

Ph.D. Anthropology, University of California, Los Angles; Ph.D. Ethnomusicology, University of California, Los Angles; M.A. Anthropology, The University of British Columbia; M.A. Ethnomusicology, The University of British Columbia; B.A. University of Toronto