Fredrik Barth, one of the world's most prominent anthropologists, passed away last Sunday at an age of 87. Barth established the Department of Social Anthropology at the University of Bergen in 1965, and his "Bergen School of Anthropology" informed and inspired his many students who came to join CMI as researchers. He taught us how to think about and analyze cultural complexity, ethnic relations, livelihood systems, ecology, politics and religion,and he saw applied social science as both stimulating an challenging, also because it would often reveal the shortcomings of our models. Barth did research in Iraq, Pakistan, Iran, Sudan, Oman, New Guinea, Indonesia, Bhutan and China.

In 2003, Fredrik Barth gave the CMI Annual Lecture where he challenged the Western perceptions and presentation of developments in the Middle East.

In 2013, the acclaimed “Fredrik Barth – an intellectual biography” was published by CMI affiliate Thomas Hylland-Eriksen (UiO).