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Strong discusses the power of food in family relationships. She describes her family's food traditions from their summers at their cabin in Idaho, and suggests that food has a bonding power because making it requires service, sacrifice, time, and love. Created by Elizabeth Strong when she was enrolled in Jill Terry Rudy's English 392 course in Fall 2002.

Scope and Contents note North collects stories about language miracles from missionaries who had served two-year proselytizing missions for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in foreign countries. Missionaries are required to learn different languages in a matter of months, which makes proselyting difficult, and many stories circulate about the Holy Ghost giving the gift of language to missionaries. North divides the stories into three types and suggests that language miracles narratives build faith...

Scope and Contents note Lorimer collects celebrity conversion stories from members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She believes that these stories--which all suggest that a famous person has converted to the Latter-day Saint faith--occur whenever religious people try to reconcile the spiritual world with the world of popular culture. She suggests that these stories emphasize a desire for validation and an anxiousness to spread truth to all people. Created by Kari Lorimer when she was enrolled in...

Scope and Contents note Parker interviews members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, collecting stories about the Three Nephites, a group of ancient disciples who are granted immortality on earth. Parker thinks that the retelling and embellishment of these originally sacred and faith-building stories have made them humorous, and suggests that they are currently told to offset the pressures of participating in a church with a very strict and explicit system of doctrine. She believes that wanderer...

Scope and Contents note Madsen collects different versions of painful folk games, which combine a mild or severe element of violence within a context of rules and consequences. He believes that violent folk games are popular because they provide a legitimate outlet for aggression in a world that disapproves of other forms of violence. The concept of the violent folk game is also appealing because it involves a kind of competition forbidden by authority, and because it teaches that consequence and suffering are...

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Morales describes a typical Quinceanera Fiesta, in which fifteen-year-old Latin girls are presented at a community party and make the transition into womanhood. She describes the various components of these fiestas and explains the importance of each of these components. Created by Luisa Morales when she was enrolled in Eric Eliason's English 391 course in Fall 2003.

Scope and Contents note Stephens collects jokes and stories from people in the Deaf community and analyzes them to discover what they convey about Deaf identity and the hazards and advantages of being Deaf in a speaking world. Stephens suggests that Deaf jokes and stories emphasize the difference between the signing and speaking worlds in order to vent frustration, build solidarity, and use the innovation they have acquired by being in the communication minority. Created by Laura Stephens when she was enrolled in...

Scope and Contents note Pearson collects and analyzes the importance of various songs from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' summer girls' camp in Bellevue, Washington. She finds that camp songs act as a release valve for girls who are in an unfamiliar setting with unfamiliar people, fostering friendly competition and unity simultaneously. She believes that the absurdity of many camp songs emphasizes to the girls that they are in a foreign place with different possibilities than those available in...

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Nelson collects superstitions and rituals from Minor League baseball players and analyzes their importance to the players and the game. He separates these superstitions into three types-physical, religious and idiosyncratic-and finds that each type of ritual helps players to find a rhythm, settle their minds, and ensure their safety. Created by Josh Nelson when he was enrolled in Eric Eliason's English 391 course in Fall 2003.

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Norton collects different variations of Hopscotch and tracks it popularity through the years. She provides a brief history on the origin of hopscotch, and interviews old and young in order to discover different approaches to the game. Created by Georgia Bartlett Norton when she was enrolled in Eric Eliason's English 392 course in Winter 2003.