Elenore Smith Bowen

Elenore Smith Bowen was the pseudonym of anthropologist Laura Bohannan, who wrote "Return to Laughter" based on her fieldwork experiences in West Africa. The book, published in 1954, presents an anthropologist's first field experience among the Tiv people of Nigeria in a narrative format rather than academic prose. Bohannan chose to publish under a pseudonym because the book departed from conventional anthropological writing of the time. "Return to Laughter" focuses on the personal and emotional aspects of fieldwork, including the author's struggles with cultural misunderstandings, isolation, and ethical dilemmas. The work stands as one of the first anthropological accounts to openly discuss the subjective experiences of the researcher in the field. Bohannan revealed the human side of anthropological research, showing how personal relationships and cultural barriers affect the collection and interpretation of data. The book influenced subsequent generations of anthropologists and contributed to discussions about reflexivity in ethnographic research. It remains one of the few works that examines the psychological and emotional challenges faced by anthropologists during extended fieldwork in unfamiliar cultures.

Readers describe "Return to Laughter" as an honest portrayal of anthropological fieldwork that differs from traditional academic writing. Many appreciate Bohannan's candid discussion of her mistakes, cultural misunderstandings, and personal struggles during her time with the Tiv people. Readers frequently praise the book's accessibility and narrative style, noting that it reads more like a novel than an academic text. They find value in the author's willingness to expose her own biases and failures, with some commenting that it provides realistic expectations for those considering fieldwork. Some readers criticize the book's age, pointing out that certain attitudes and language reflect the colonial era in which it was written. Others note that the pseudonymous publication creates distance between the author and her experiences. Several readers mention the book's usefulness in anthropology courses, describing it as an effective introduction to the realities of ethnographic research. Critics point out that the narrative format sometimes obscures analytical insights that might appear in traditional ethnography.