Biography
Eric A. Eliason is professor of folklore at Brigham Young University. He has published on Latter-day Saint/Mormon, Caribbean, Russian, English, Afghan, American, Mexican, military, hunting, and biblical cultural traditions.
From 2002 to 2008 he served as chaplain for the 1st Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group (Airborne) in the Utah Army National Guard. He served in Afghanistan, the Philippines, and at Arlington National Cemetery. He developed the first training program for Afghan military chaplains and worked closely with Afghan religious and community leaders on reconstruction projects.
Research Interests
Latter-day Saint/Mormon folklore, military and hunting folklore, the Bible, folk art, foodwaysTeaching Interests
folklore, the Bible as literature, evolutionary psychology and the arts, American literatureHonors and Awards
- Association for Mormon Letters Special Award in Non-Fiction, Association for Mormon Letters (2021 - 2021)
- Finalist for Best Book in Utah History, Utah Division of State History and Utah State Historical Society (2021 - 2021)
- Nominated in “Eating the West” category for the 31st Annual Reading the West Awards , Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association (2021 - 2021)
- English Department Scholarship Award, BYU English Department (2007 - 2007)
Memberships
- Mormon History Association (1997 - Present)
Professional Citizenship
- Other, Thanksgiving Point Utah Foods Competition (2014 - Present)
- Conference-Related Role, The Bible in Mormonism Author Workshop Conference (2017 - 2017)
- Guest Speaker, Snow College Arts & Letters Convocation Lecture Series (2017 - 2017)