Alan Dundes

Ancestor worship, or filial piety so characteristic of Asian cultures, for example, does not really resonate with Americans who favor children, not grandparents. ”

I have a great advantage over many of my colleagues inasmuch as my students bring with them to class their own personal knowledge of national, regional, religious, ethnic, occupational, and family folklore traditions. ”

Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak. ”

Their term project consists of a fieldwork collection of folklore that they create by interviewing family members, friends, or anyone they can manage to persuade to serve as an informant. ”

It is important to recognize that folklore is not simply a way of obtaining available date about identity for social scientists; it is actually one of the principal means by which an individual and a group discovers or establishes his or its identity. ”

Future orientation is combined with a notion and expectation of progress, and nothing is impossible. ”

Americans do believe in progress and there is almost certainly a kernel of truth in the joke. ”