Yousef Abazari

Yousef Abazari, born 1952, is an Iranian sociologist and retired associate professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Tehran. He is considered one of the prominent figures in critical sociology in Iran and is best known for his critique of neoliberalism, analysis of contemporary culture, sociology of literature, and the intersection of social theory and politics.

Abazari earned his bachelor's degree in communications in 1973, and subsequently completed his master's and doctoral degrees in sociology at the University of Tehran. His master's thesis examined the relationship between religion, philosophy, and sociology, and his doctoral dissertation was titled The Wisdom of Sociology. He taught at the University of Tehran for over two decades and played a role in shaping and expanding the theoretical landscape of sociology in Iran, particularly in the areas of critical theory, the sociology of culture, and the sociology of literature.

Abazari was for a time a member of the editorial board of Arghanoun magazine, a journal that was influential in introducing contemporary philosophical, literary, and social theories to Persian speakers during the 1990s and 2000s. He also served as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Social Sciences. His theoretical interests range from classical sociology to critical theory, Russian formalism, Bakhtin, the sociology of literature, the critique of capitalism, and the analysis of cultural politics.

In recent years, Abazari has been known above all for his critical stances on neoliberalism, consumerism, popular culture, and depoliticization.