Nur Yalman

Nur Yalman is a Turkish social anthropologist associated with Harvard University. He holds the position of senior Research Professor of Social Anthropology and Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard. Prior to his tenure at Harvard, Yalman was involved with the University of Chicago, where he directed the Center for Middle Eastern Studies. He also served as a Prime Ministry Special Advisor in Turkey's State Planning Organization and has held significant roles in the board of trustees of Koç University, including serving as its former chairman. Yalman received his education in Social Anthropology from Cambridge University, where he was mentored by Edmund Leach, and conducted his doctoral fieldwork in Sri Lanka. His academic career also includes teaching at the University of Middle East Technical University and the University of Chicago. His research interests are diverse, focusing on kinship, marriage, religion, and politics within Middle Eastern and Muslim societies. He has conducted ethnographic fieldwork in various regions, including Sri Lanka, India, Iran, and Turkey. Yalman is also noted for his linguistic abilities, being fluent in Turkish, English, French, German, Persian, Sinhalese, Italian, and Arabic. He contributes to academic discourse by teaching courses on structuralist and post-structuralist theory, as well as on modernization and social change.