Scope and Contents note

Axman explores the reasons behind visual and metaphorical object lessons in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She concludes that object lessons are relevant to religious lessons insofar as they take abstract objects and turn them into concrete and memorable events. Created by Lani Axman, a student in Eric Eliason's English 391 class during Fall 2002.

Scope and Contents note

Read shares stories of the visions and supernatural experiences of her grandmother, Ida McDonald. She believes these stories are passed around her family as a way to validate belief in the afterlife and to confirm loved one's continuing involvement in their lives. Created by Jennifer Read, a student in Eric Eliason's English 391 class during Summer 1998.

Scope and Contents note Wright analyzes the cultural significance and statements made through hairstyles in Provo. He conducts his research by asking people whether they have a story behind their hair and whether they use their hairstyle to make a statement. He concludes that hairstyles are used as convenient stereotyping mechanisms and cues for people who are immersed in a culture and that, although most people agree that other's hairstyles are attempts to make a statement, no one personally believes their...

Scope and Contents note Rice analyzes marriage advice given to newlyweds and divides the most common topics of advice into three categories: advice concerning bedroom activities, standards of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the need to remain social. The fact that much of the advice was so similar and matched up with professional marriage advice leads Rice to conclude that people experience overwhelmingly similar lessons in their marriages. Created by Mary Rice when she was enrolled in Eric...

Scope and Contents note Davis hypothesizes that the office decor of Brigham Young University professors will reflect a combination of individuality and commonality, where the decorations will showcase philosophies, hobbies, and interests that are distinctly the professor's, but also reflect the importance of education that is common to the folk group of teachers. Davis compares professor offices to personal museums that contain individual memorabilia in addition to the values and history of a particular folk group...

Scope and Contents note Loftus documents embarrassing stories that have occurred to the girls in her freshman dorm at Brigham Young University. She suggests that freshman year invites an increase in embarrassing moments, since it marks a person's entrance into a world of independence, freedom, and dating. She divides the embarrassing moments into three types--those that would be embarrassing if a specific person found out, those that would be embarrassing if specific people were present, and those that would be...

Scope and Contents note Saldivar explores the connections between the larger religious culture of being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the relationship breakups that occur within that culture, gathering stories from freshman girls in her dorm at Brigham Young University and from older people at a family Thanksgiving dinner. She divides relationships stories into three categories--those that inspire anger, those that inspire sadness, and those that inspire laughter. She also relates...

Scope and Contents note Scott collects pregnancy advice exchanged between older and younger women, and analyzes the childhood games that deal with birth and babies. She believes that pregnancy advice comes from women's personal experiences with childbirth, and gain validity and legitimacy as a result of that personal experience. She finds that pregnancy advice is a folkloric domain almost entirely exclusive to women, and reflects the distinct separation of gender roles found in most cultures. She concludes by...

Scope and Contents note Hunt designs her folklore project around the artistic letters that she and her Internet pen pals have exchanged with each other. Hunt emphasizes the importance of the hand-written letter as a tangible, individual, and expressive object in an era of uniform and mass communication. She sees these decorated letters as a form of folk art that allows for more variability and expression than other more technological mediums of communication. She validates these letters as folk art by aligning...

Scope and Contents note Jones analyzes the conversion stories told by proselytizing female missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She emphasizes the positive aspects of missionary stories told by females, who-unlike male missionaries-aren't required to go on missions. She believes that the positive emphasis prevalent in female missionary stories exists because the women telling the stories don't want to reveal the negative aspects of a mission and discourage women from becoming...