POSSIBLE PROJECT TOPICS :

• Legends about a historical figure:  "False Legends About George Washington Were Important in Shaping American History" or "Good Legends Can Be Bad History--Why the Historical Truth is Important"
  
• Calendar Custom:  "Celebrating Halloween by Costume or Custom is Pagan and Un-Christian"
  
• Superstition:  "COS College Athletes' Use of  Sport Superstition is Neither Harmless or Logical"  or:  "The Use of Local Weather Lore Can Help Ensure a Successful Garden"
  
• Myths and Legends common to Mt Shasta:   "Bigfoot--a Big Hoax With Big Consequences" or "The Summit Lake Ghost Legend Functions as a Teen Dating Downer"
  
• An in-depth look at a rite of passage:  "Don't Lie to Your Kid About the Tooth Fairy" or "The Baby Shower--More a Social Event than Rite?"
  
• Folk songs:  "Folk Songs as Builders of Group Solidarity Among US Soldiers in Vietnam" or "You Can Take the Country Out of Proverbs, but You  Can't Take the Proverbs out of Country Music"
  
• Calendar Custom: "Parents That Lie To Their Children About The Existence Of Santa Claus Are Teaching Kids That Deception is Acceptable, That Truth is Age Related, and That the Motivation for Good Behavior is the Hope of Future Presents"
• Folk Games:  "Using 5 Common Folk Games to Beat Childhood Obesity and Teach Social Skills"
  
• Gestures: "Let's Stop Handshaking--A once worthy greeting gesture that is now sexist, germ-transferring, and confusing"
  
• Motifs:  "Common Motifs in Creation Stories Support Diffusion Rather Than Polygenesis" 
  
• Folk Tales:  "Fairy Tales--How They Help Set Up A Young Girl For Failure" or "Fairy Tales--How a Partent Can Use the Good, Bad, and Ugly As Teachable Moments"
  
• Superstition:  "Water Witching--Anecdotal Evidence vs Scientific Inquiry"
• Jokes:  "Medical Staff Humor--Offensive, Informative, and a Necessary Release of Stress"
  
• Organizational lore: "College Administrators Should Use Campus Folklore to Understand Student Needs and Concerns"  
• Cowboy Lore: "Like the miner and logger, the cowboy has become a significant part of American folklore. Cowboy sayings, poetry, and songs all show the fascination our culture has for these hard-working heroes of the West, and such folklore has much to say to America today about the value of self-reliance, sense of duty, and hard work."
• Calendar Customs: "Calendar Customs like Valentine's Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas create significant pressure on the healthy dieter to engage in overeating, increase their intake of sugars and fats, and imbibe in too much alcohol. Here are three ways to engage fully in the traditions of these calendar customs without putting on pounds or alienating your friends and family."
• Rituals and Oral Lore:  "American Hunting Rituals and Oral Lore Help Instill Conservationist Ideals, Safety Lessons, and Character Building in Budding Hunters"
• An American writer's use of folklore:  "Mark Twain's use of Proverbs and Superstitions Enriched and Enlivened His Writings"
  
• American folk medicine:  "Using Folk Medicine Saves Money and Lives" or "Folk Medicine--Dangerous Fantasy"
• Calendar Custom: "Many of the Most Popular Calendar Customs of Christmas are Celebrated Around the World by People of Almost All Religious Affiliations, and Recent Attempts to Claim the Entire Holiday as Christian are Both Divisive and  Ignorant of History"
• Latrinalia:  "Bathroom Graffiti--What Do Gender Differences in Latrinalia Tell Us?"
  
• Proverbs:  "Fooled Again--How Politicians Use Proverbs to Mislead or Misdirect"
  
• Maladicta: "Cursing is a vital component of oral folklore and when used correctly it facilitates understanding, adds emphasis, and helps color mundane communication"
• Conspiracy theories:  "Why We Should Be Skeptical of Conspiracy Theories" or "Conspiricay Theories--What They Can Tell Us About American Fears"
  
• Urban Legend:  "Cow Tipping--A False Legend Common to Rural America" or "Crop Circle Creation--What Happens When Science and Legend Disagree?"
  
• Folk Tales: "The Disneyfication of Folk Tales Like Aladdin and His Magic Lamp  and Cinderella Most Often Weaken the Original Tale's Message and Sacrifice Historical Value for Political Correctness."
• Calendar Custom: "Parents should allow their children to fully participate in the customs of Halloween, including dressing up, trick or treating, and carving of pumpkins. To not do so would deny their children valuable social interaction, teach them that one's actions are more important than intent, and be a missed opportunity to make the calendar custom a real learning experience."
  

• Folk crafts of the Rainbow/Deadhead groups
• Quilt making
• Fishing Lore
• Occupational lore: logging lore, railroad lore, military lore...
• Proverbs
• Black folk expressions
• Burial customs
• Fire walking
• Snake handling
• Gestures
• Memorates
• Dowsing
• Jargon of the drug culture, hot rod culture...
• Children's games, songs, derogatory epithets
• Cinderella in the movies, in history, in 300 versions, in Asia...
• Cold weather comments
• Local ghost stories
• Mexican-American graffiti, train graffiti, bathroom graffiti, desktop inscription...
• Folklore about Bikers--Harley lore, tales of rides and runs, outlaws...
• The American cowboy in folklore
  
• American Indian games/riddles/medicine/basketry/myths/legends
• Wedding customs (could look at local Italian, Lao, African American...)
• Etymology or use of dirty words
• Folk tales of a specific type or country
• Summer camp lore