Dr. Bernard Gallin

“Bernie” was pre-deceased by his parents Jake Galchinsky and Rose Kaffka and his brothers Louis, Hyman and Charles, and a lot of friends. Born in Brooklyn, New York into a Jewish immigrant family, Bernie never forgot his origins. A child of the Depression era, Bernie possessed a natural curiosity about life, society, and social interaction and especially held a special fascination for East Asian cultures.

Graduating from Brooklyn Technical High School, he attended City College of New York. Upon graduation from CUNY he studied Japanese and Chinese and served in the US army as an interpreter. He pursued graduate studies in Anthropology, his life-long passion, at Cornell University culminating in a Ph.D.

An acknowledged expert on Taiwan, its development, society, and family structure, Bernie visited Taiwan repeatedly over the years accompanied by the love of his life “Janie”, (his beloved wife Dr. Rita Schlesinger Gallin) where they pursued the ethnographic study of Hsin Hsing village. They were the first American Anthropologists to pursue Anthropological field research in Taiwan and their life’s work in Taiwan culminated in their receiving Honorary Taiwanese citizenship in 2006.

The author, co-author, and editor of numerous books, articles, and scholarly works, Dr. Gallin held faculty positions at The State University of New York at Binghamton, Wayne State University and Michigan State University where he served as a chairman of the Department of Anthropology for 15 years. His academic career was also notable for his extensive mentorship of many students, his advocacy of women’s rights in academia, and the award of three Fulbright International Scholar awards.

An avid reader, Bernie also loved plants and plant pruning, was an accomplished sailor, and a keen skier. His love for learning new cultures led him to tour the world with his family. But what truly characterized Bernie was his love and faith in humankind and his persistence in striving for and securing justice and promoting secular humanism.

He is survived by his eternal love, Dr. Rita Gallin, his beloved children Marc and Peter, his daughter-in-law Patricia, his nieces and nephews, and a wide circle of family and friends.

A memorial celebration of life will be held in the Spring of 2024.