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Submitted by BYU student Becki Johnson, about the similarities of values and beliefs among LDS women about birth. Includes a cover essay, autobiographical sketch, stories of women's experiences of birth and how their faith helped them to understand and accept the experience. Prepared for her Fall 2009 English 392 class under Prof. Jill Rudy.

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After returning from a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Romania McRae translated a folktale that she had encountered. The text of the item is the English translation to the story of The Emperor's Boy and Josephina the Beautiful, a tale describing a young man's quest to retrieve a beautiful maiden from a scary monster. Project was created for Professor Thursby's English 495 course taught at Brigham Young University in 1999.

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Kristine Barnett collected personal narratives about creative dance invitations by students of Bountiful High School. Included are invitations that utilized a play on words, live animals, or made the invitation a memorable experience for the person who received it. Project was written for an English 391 class taught at Brigham Young University during Fall semester 1994.

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LeFevre interviewed friends and peers on their opinions on date-asking etiquette. Includes men and women opinions on whether or not is appropriate for a woman to ask a man on a date if she is interested in him. Project was created for Dr. Eliason's English 391 course taught at Brigham Young University in 1999.

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Barbara Thompson collected personal narratives of boy-girl relationships and dating situations. Included are stories of Mormon and Non-Mormon dating, kissing, and engagements, as well as awkward situations and dates. Project was written for Dr. Cheney's English 669 class taught at Brigham Young University in May 1969.

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Jones collected stories and methods for predicting the gender of babies before they are born. Included are stories about the way the baby is carried, tying a string to a wedding ring and watching it act around over the pregnant belly, and the within a woman's cycle the child was conceived. Project was created for Dr. Eliason's English 391 course taught at Brigham Young University in 2000.

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Clayton collected lore pertaining to determining the sex of an unborn child, and discussed why these beliefs persist despite modern access to accurate ultrasound technology. Included in paper is the belief that if a baby is active in the womb, it will be a boy, and the belief that if a wedding ring on a string rotates in a certain way, the baby will be a girl. The project was written for Dr. Rudy's English 392 class in 1998 taught at Brigham Young University.

Scope and Contents note This project is a collection of stories and beliefs used to predict and solve the mystery of which gender a baby will be while still in the womb. Included in the analysis section is a brief history of gender prediction myths and the variations between cultures. The author also notes how science plays a role in confirming or debunking folk beliefs. Some of the folk beliefs collected are from America, El Salvador, Korea, Argentina, Mexico, and China. Collected by Marilee Castro, Dr. Jacqueline...

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Shirley examines the important role hair and hairstyles play in our culture, and how this plays a role in the distress felt by a bad haircut. She concludes that bad haircuts are generally more distressful for women than men, occur more frequently when done yourself, and can be very humorous later in life when looked back on. Created by Jessica Shirley while enrolled in Kristi Young's English 391 course during the winter semester 2007 at Brigham Young University.

Scope and Contents

Submitted by BYU student Robert C. Scott for his Fall 1971 English 391 class. About the stories of authority figures that boys between ages of eight and thirteen tell, and how it plays a role in forming their lives. Contains a cover essay, an autobiographical sketch, list of informants and informant stories. Stories include toilet seat, lawman, it's coming, gladder, dirty boy, Mary's Duck, Miss mUffet, Barnacle Bill, Jones of the FBI, and more.