Americans have a penchant for the future and tend to disregard the past.

- Alan Dundes

In my introductory course, Anthropology 160, the Forms of Folklore, I try to show the students what the major and minor genres of folklore are, and h…

- Alan Dundes

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

- Alan Dundes

In the light of our culture, these are not unreasonable questions and tactics, but if once again, we try to see the lens through which we look, we ca…

- Alan Dundes

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

- Alan Dundes

Cities all over the world are getting bigger as more and more people move from rural to urban sites, but that has created enormous problems with resp…

- Alan Dundes

Americans often have trouble enjoying the present moment.

- Alan Dundes

If a student takes the whole series of my folklore courses including the graduate seminars, he or she should learn something about fieldwork, somethi…

- Alan Dundes

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

- Alan Dundes