Eric Carlson Abstract Appearance Eric Carlson is currently working on his dissertation in medieval literature in the English department at Purdue University. Focusing on Old English and Old Norse texts from an anthropological viewpoint, Eric's dissertation is an attempt to reconcile the biological and cultural motivations for both warfare and altruism as depicted in medieval literature. Carlson earned his B.A. in English from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1994, and his M.A. in English from DePaul University in 1996. When not lurking the halls of the Purdue English department, Eric commutes back to Milwaukee to spend time with his wonderful wife Amy and their feisty dog Grendel.