Author Talk with Dr. Erin Stiles
Spirit Encounters in Northern Utah: An Ethnographic Approach to Religion
Thursday, March 26, 2026, 7:00 PST
Albrecht Auditorium
Claremont Graduate University
In the mountains of northern Utah, Latter-day Saints are frequently visited by spirits. Most often, these visitors are the benevolent spirits of kin, but sometimes they are malevolent minions of Satan. Erin Stiles, an anthropologist, discusses her research on the nature and meaning of these spirit encounters and the processes of conducting ethnographic research on religion.
Dr. Erin Stiles is a Professor and Chair in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Nevada, Reno. Her research program focuses on religion and law, and she has conducted fieldwork and published on Islamic law and legal practice in different parts of Africa (Zanzibar, South Africa, Ghana) and on spirit encounters among Latter-day Saints in northern Utah, where she grew up.
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