In Memoriam: Nur O. Yalman

Nur O. Yalman, Professor of Social Anthropology and Middle Eastern Studies Emeritus, passed away June 4th in Istanbul, Türkiye at the age of 95. 

Nur was a senior member of a distinguished group of anthropologists at Harvard in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s including David Maybury Lewis, Stanley Tambiah, and Sally Falk Moore. All were strongly oriented to British Social Anthropology. Educated at Robert College in Istanbul, he went on to earn his BA and PhD in Social Anthropology at Cambridge University under Edmund Leach. 

Nur’s interests were broad, spanning from the anthropology of religion to political anthropology and world affairs. His book Under the Bo Tree: Studies in Caste, Kinship and Marriage in the Interior of Ceylon (1967) was an influential ethnography of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. Over time, his research expanded to religion and politics in Middle Eastern and Muslim societies, supported by ethnographic fieldwork in Sri Lanka, India, Iran, and Türkiye. 

After early appointments at Cambridge and the University of Chicago—where he directed the Center for Middle Eastern Studies from 1968 to 1972—he joined the faculty at Harvard University, where he headed the Center for Middle Eastern Studies for a time and was associated with Harvard's Society of Fellows for many years. He was a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and held honorary and leadership roles in institutions ranging from Koç University in Istanbul to international peace and dialogue centers. 

An elegant, sophisticated man with an extensive global network, Nur Yalman was highly regarded as a supportive teacher who helped open doors for his students and supported interdisciplinary programs, including the Department’s Program in Medical Anthropology. He will be remembered with great respect and affection by colleagues, students, and friends around the world.