Eric G. Swedin
Professor of History
Office: Lindquist Hall 274
Phone: 801- 626-6706
Email: eswedin@weber.edu
Course Page
Research & Teaching Areas
- History of Science
- History of Technology
- American Civilization
- 20th Century
- Futurism and Science Fiction
Degrees
- BA, Weber State University (1988)
- MS, Utah State University (1991)
- PhD, Case Western Reserve University (1996)
Courses
- HIST 1700 American History
- HIST 3350 History and Philosophy of Science
- HIST 4510 Twentieth Century World
- Honors Courses
Publications
Books
- With David L. Ferro. The Computer: A Brief History of the Machine That Changed the World (Greenwood Press, 2022).
- Seeking Valhalla: A Science Fiction Novel (Borgo Press, an imprint of Wildside Press, 2013).
- Fragments of Me: A Science Fiction Novel (Borgo Press, an imprint of Wildside Press, 2012).
- Bingham Canyon Doctor: The Life and Legacy of Paul S. Richards (University of Utah School of Medicine, 2012).
- Anasazi Exile: A Science Fiction Novel (Borgo Press, an imprint of Wildside Press, 2012).
- With David L. Ferro, editors. Science Fiction and Computing: Essays on Interlinked Domains (McFarland, 2011).
- Editor. Survive the Bomb: The Radioactive Citizen's Guide to Nuclear Survival (Zenith Books, 2011).
- When Angels Wept: A What-If History of the Cuban Missile Crisis (Potomac Books, 2010). Won the 2010 Sidewise Award for Best Alternate History.
- With David L. Ferro. Computers: The Life Story of a Technology (Greenwood Press, 2005). Reissued as a paperback by The Johns Hopkins University Press in 2007.
- Science in the Contemporary World: An Encyclopedia (ABC-CLIO, 2005).
- The Killing of Greybird: A Novel (Cedar Fort, 2004).
- Healing Souls: Psychotherapy in the Latter-day Saint Community (University of Illinois Press, 2003).
Selected Articles & Essays
- "The Echoes of Silver Ridge." Jaleta Clegg and Joe Monson, editors, A Hero of a Different Stripe (Hemelein Publications/LTUE Press, 2023). Science fiction short story.
- "Homosexuality and Therapeutic Culture in Mormonism," in Amy Hoyt and Taylor Petry, editors, The Routledge Handbook of Mormonism and Gender (Routledge, 2020), 187-204.
- Contributor, section on Edward Teller. Aaron Barlow, editor, The Manhattan Project and the Dropping of the Atomic Bomb: The Essential Reference Guide (ABC-CLIO, 2019). Section reused from Science in the Contemporary World: An Encyclopedia (2005).
- "Knowing Me." Joe Monson and Jaleta Clegg, editors, Trace the Stars (Hemelein Publications/LTUE Press, 2019). Science fiction short story.
- “Columbus Was Wrong: Extract from a Work in Progress on American History.” Weber: The Contemporary West 33:2 (Spring/Summer 2017): 67-74.
- “Utah's Spaceport: A Failed Dream.” Utah Historical Quarterly 84:3 (Summer 2016), 254-261.
- With David L. Ferro. “Murray Leinster and ‘A Logic Named Joe’.” Literary Criticism (Gale, 2015).
- "Safety Lessons: The 1938 Burgon’s Crossing School Bus and Train Accident." Utah Historical Quarterly 81:2 (Spring 2013), 159-168.
- "The Ultimate What-If of the Cuban Missile Crisis: What If There Had Been a Nuclear War?" History News Network, November 12,
- "Why OS/2 Failed: Business Mistakes Compounded by Memory Prices," Mountain Plains Journal of Business and Economics 10 (2009), 28-37.
- "Thiokol in Utah," Utah Historical Quarterly 75:1 (Winter 2007), 64-78.
- "Designing Babies: A Eugenics Race with China?" The Futurist 40:3 (May-June 2006), 18-21.
- "The History of Computer Hacking Reveals Benevolent Origins," Standard-Examiner, May 31, 2004, page 11A.
- "Bingham Canyon Physician: Paul Snelgrove Richards, 1892-1958," Utah Historical Quarterly 69:1 (Winter 2001): 60-68.
- "Psychotherapy in the LDS Community," AMCAP Journal 25:1 (Fall 2000): 27-39.
- "We're Witnessing Our Own 20th-century Renaissance," Ogden Standard-Examiner, May 12, 1999, page 11A.
- "Integrating the Modern Psychologies and Religion: Allen E. Bergin and the Latter-day Saint Example," Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences 35:2 (Spring 1999): 157-176.
- "'One Flesh:' A Historical Overview of Latter-day Saint Sexuality and Psychology," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 31:4 (Winter 1998), 1-29. Won the 1998 Dialogue History and Biography Award.
- "Perry Prevails: The Battle of Lake Erie," Military History (web edition), April, 1997.
- "The Swett Homestead: 1909-1970," Utah Historical Quarterly 62:2 (Spring 1994): 132-148.