Contact Information

Office: 4173 JFSB

Phone: 422-9079

E-mail: eric_eliason@byu.edu

Office Hours:
Open Office Hours except for one hour before class

Courses Taught:
English 391 Introduction to Folklore
English 392 American Folklore
English 235 Masterpieces of American Literature
English 350 The Bible as Literature

Since joining the BYU English faculty in 1997, Eric A. Eliason has taught courses in folklore and literature. He is an ethnographer whose field research has taken him across America and to the Caribbean, Russia, England, and Mexico.

His research interests include: documentary ethnography, Mormon folklore, human/animal cooperative hunting traditions, biological and market economic approaches to aesthetics, and the Bible as literature.

His books include: The J. Golden Kimball Stories and Mormons and Mormonism from the University of Illinois Press and The Fruit of Her Hands: Saba Lace History and Patterns. Forthcoming books include: Killing Traditions: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Hunting and Fishing in North America (with Dennis Cutchins), To See them Run: The Nature and Art of Great Plains Coyote Coursing and Mexican Black Velvet Painting (with Scott Squire).

His articles have appeared in venues such as Western Folklore and the University of California’s Religion and American Culture.

Dr. Eliason holds a B.A. in linguistics from Brigham Young University and an M.A. in anthropology and Ph.D. in American Civilization from The University of Texas at Austin.

He is also the chaplain for the 1st Battalion 19th Special Forces of the Utah National Guard. He has served in Afghanistan (2004) and the Philippines (2006 and 2007).

Eric lives in Springville, Utah with his wife Stephanie and four children Shelby, Caleb, Noah, and Samuel.

Degrees