Erika Bourguignon facts for kids

Erika Eichhorn Bourguignon (born February 18, 1924 – died February 15, 2015) was an American anthropologist. She was born in Austria. Erika Bourguignon was famous for her studies on how people experience different states of mind. This included things like possession trance and other altered states of consciousness. People saw her as a top expert on these topics. She was also one of the people who helped start the field of "anthropology of consciousness."

Erika and her parents left Austria in 1938. She earned her first degree from Queens College in 1945. Then she went to Northwestern University for her advanced studies. She did important research with the Chippewa people in Wisconsin. She also did fieldwork in Haiti from 1947 to 1948.

After her time in Haiti, Bourguignon started teaching at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. She taught there for over 40 years! From 1971 to 1976, she was the head of the Anthropology Department. She was also active in many academic groups. She was especially important in the Society for Psychological Anthropology. Erika Bourguignon had many interests. She even created a weekly radio show about world music. She also helped start a seminar for women in development. She was the first leader of Ohio State's Council on Academic Excellence for Women. In 2000, Queens College gave her an honorary degree.

Early life and moving to America

Childhood in Austria

Erika Bourguignon was born Erika Eichhorn in Vienna, Austria. Her birthday was February 18, 1924. Her parents, Leopold and Charlotte, were Jewish. In March 1938, when Erika was 14, Nazi Germany took over Austria. Because of this, Erika and her parents left Austria in the summer of 1938.

They went to Switzerland. Her parents settled in Zurich. Erika went to a boarding school in the Rhone Valley. The next year, her family got visas to move to the United States. They arrived in New York City in October 1939.

College and finding love

Erika Bourguignon went to Queens College in New York City. There, she took classes with anthropologist Hortense Powdermaker. After graduating in 1945, she went to graduate school. She studied anthropology at Northwestern University.

While doing research in Haiti, Erika met Paul-Henri Bourguignon. He was a Belgian artist and writer. He was working for a Belgian newspaper there. Paul-Henri took many photos of Haiti and its people. Erika later used these photos in her books. Erika and Paul got married on September 29, 1950.

A career in understanding people

Teaching and research

After returning from Haiti, Erika Bourguignon started teaching at The Ohio State University. She became a full professor in 1960. From 1963 to 1968, she led a big study. It was called the "Cross-Cultural Study of Dissociational States." She wrote about her findings in a book in 1973. The book was titled Religion, Altered States of Consciousness, and Social Change.

Focus on altered states and culture

From 1970 to 1990, much of Erika Bourguignon's work came from her research in Haiti. In Haiti, she was very interested in possession trance. This is a special part of the Haitian Vodou religion. Besides possession trance, she also studied other altered states of consciousness. These included dreams and even multiple-personality disorder.

Sometimes, altered states of consciousness are not accepted by society. They might be seen as a mental illness. Bourguignon was interested in these too. This led her to study cross-cultural psychiatry. This field looks at how mental health is understood in different cultures.

Her interest in religion also came from her Haiti research. Possession trance was an accepted part of Vodou. Throughout her career, Bourguignon wrote many articles and books. She wrote about how different religions mix. She also wrote about religion and justice in Haitian Vodou.

Erika Bourguignon also cared about women's studies. Many Haitians who experienced possession trance were women. In the 1980s, she edited a book called A World of Women: Anthropological Studies of Women in the Societies of the World. She also helped start Ohio State's Council on Academic Excellence for Women in 1979.

Later years and lasting impact

Retirement and continued work

In 1990, Erika Bourguignon retired from teaching. This was two years after her husband Paul passed away. But even after retiring, she stayed very active. She returned to her birthplace, Vienna, Austria, in 1992. She wrote about her feelings from that trip.

In 1998, she helped write a book. It was about her aunt Bronka Schneider's escape from Nazi Austria. In 2009, Ohio State University held a special event for her 85th birthday. They talked about her main research areas. These included psychological anthropology, religion, women's studies, and Holocaust studies.

From 1990 until she died, Bourguignon helped set up art shows. These shows featured the artwork of her late husband, Paul-Henri Bourguignon. His art was shown in Ohio, New York City, and other places.

Her legacy in anthropology

Erika Bourguignon is known as a leading expert on altered states of consciousness. She was also famous for her new ideas. She showed how religious trance connects to gender roles and social change. Another anthropologist, Melford Spiro, called her a top psychological anthropologist. He also said she was the best expert on trance, possession, and altered states of consciousness.

Today, there is a special lecture series in her honor. It is called The Paul H. and Erika Bourguignon Lecture Series in Arts and Anthropology. It happens every spring at Ohio State University.