The Amish in the American Imagination

The Amish in the American Imagination PDF Author: David Weaver-Zercher
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 9780801866814
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 316

Get Book Here

Book Description
Enveloped in mystery, Amish culture has remained a captivating topic within mainstream American culture. In this volume, David Weaver-Zercher explores how Americans throughout the 20th century reacted to and interpreted the Amish. Through an examination of a variety of visual and textual sources, Weaver-Zercher explores how diverse groups - ranging from Mennonites to Hollywood producers - represented and understood the Amish.

The Amish in the American Imagination

The Amish in the American Imagination PDF Author: David Weaver-Zercher
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 9780801866814
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 316

Get Book Here

Book Description
Enveloped in mystery, Amish culture has remained a captivating topic within mainstream American culture. In this volume, David Weaver-Zercher explores how Americans throughout the 20th century reacted to and interpreted the Amish. Through an examination of a variety of visual and textual sources, Weaver-Zercher explores how diverse groups - ranging from Mennonites to Hollywood producers - represented and understood the Amish.

Writing the Amish

Writing the Amish PDF Author: David Weaver-Zercher
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 0271026863
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 371

Get Book Here

Book Description
From the early 1960s to the late 1980s, John A. Hostetler was the world&’s premier scholar of Amish life. Hailed by his peers for his illuminating and sensitive portrayals of this often misunderstood religious sect, Hostetler successfully spanned the divide between popular and academic culture, thereby shaping perceptions of the Amish throughout American society. He was also outspoken in his views of the modern world and of the Amish world&—views that continue to stir debate today. Born into an Old Order Amish family in 1918, Hostetler came of age in an era when the Amish were largely dismissed as a quaint and declining culture, a curious survival with little relevance for contemporary American life. That perception changed during Hostetler&’s career, for not only did the Amish survive during these decades, they demonstrated a stunning degree of cultural vitality&—which Hostetler observed, analyzed, and interpreted for millions of interested readers. Writing the Amish both recounts and assesses Hostetler&’s Amish-related work. The first half of the book consists of four reflective essays&—by Donald Kraybill, Simon Bronner, David Weaver-Zercher, and Hostetler himself&—in which Hostetler is the primary subject. The second half reprints, in chronological order, fourteen key writings by Hostetler with commentaries and annotations by Weaver-Zercher. Taken together, these writings, supplemented by a comprehensive bibliography of Hostetler&’s publications, provide ready access to the Hostetler corpus and the tools by which to evaluate his work, his intellectual evolution, and his legacy as a scholar of Amish and American life. Moreover, by providing a window into the varied worlds of John A. Hostetler&—his Amish boyhood, his Mennonite Church milieu, his educational pursuits, his scholarly career, and his vocation as a mediator and advocate for Amish life&—this volume enhances the ongoing discussion of how ethnographic representation pertains to America&’s most renowned folk culture, the Old Order Amish.

The Riddle of Amish Culture

The Riddle of Amish Culture PDF Author: Donald B. Kraybill
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 0801876311
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 586

Get Book Here

Book Description
Revised edition of this classic work brings the story of the Amish into the 21st century. Since its publication in 1989, The Riddle of Amish Culture has become recognized as a classic work on one of America's most distinctive religious communities. But many changes have occurred within Amish society over the past decade, from westward migrations and a greater familiarity with technology to the dramatic shift away from farming into small business which is transforming Amish culture. For this revised edition, Donald B. Kraybill has taken these recent changes into account, incorporating new demographic research and new interviews he has conducted among the Amish. In addition, he includes a new chapter describing Amish recreation and social gatherings, and he applies the concept of "social capital" to his sensitive and penetrating interpretation of how the Amish have preserved their social networks and the solidarity of their community.

Selling the Amish

Selling the Amish PDF Author: Susan L. Trollinger
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 1421404192
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 219

Get Book Here

Book Description
More than 19 million tourists flock to Amish Country each year, drawn by the opportunity to glimpse "a better time" and the quaint beauty of picturesque farmland and handcrafted quilts. What they may find, however, are elaborately themed town centers, outlet malls, or even a water park. Susan L. Trollinger explores this puzzling incongruity, showing that Amish tourism is anything but plain and simple. Selling the Amish takes readers on a virtual tour of three such tourist destinations in Ohio’s Amish Country, the world’s largest Amish settlement. Trollinger examines the visual rhetoric of these uniquely themed places—their architecture, interior decor, even their merchandise and souvenirs—and explains how these features create a setting and a story that brings tourists back year after year. This compelling story is, Trollinger argues, in part legitimized by the Amish themselves. To Americans faced with anxieties about modern life, being near the Amish way of life is comforting. The Amish seem to have escaped the rush of contemporary life, the confusion of gender relations, and the loss of ethnic heritage. While the Amish way supports the idealized experience of these tourist destinations, it also raises powerful questions. Tourists may want a life uncomplicated by technology, but would they be willing to drive around in horse-drawn buggies in order to achieve it? Trollinger's answers to important questions in her fascinating study of Amish Country tourism are sure to challenge readers’ understanding of this surprising cultural phenomenon.

An Amish Family Reunion

An Amish Family Reunion PDF Author: Mary Ellis
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers
ISBN: 0736944885
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 322

Get Book Here

Book Description
During a rumschpringe visit to Niagara Falls, Phoebe Miller meets Eli Riehl, a young man who charms her—and everyone else—with his exceptional storytelling ability. When Phoebe sketches scenes to illustrate one of his tales, Eli encourages her incredible talent, and together they embark on a lofty and unlikely business venture for two young Amish people—writing and illustrating a children's book. Eli's kindness and appeal extend beyond his knack for words to reach inside Phoebe's heart. But he is an only son with five sisters, and when his father suffers a heart attack, Eli gives up his writing to assume responsibility on the farm. Though willing to abandon his dream of becoming an author, he won't give up his beloved Phoebe. Can their love for a good story develop into something that lasts forever, or will Phoebe's deep-seated fear of desertion stand in their way?

The Amish and the Media

The Amish and the Media PDF Author: Diane Zimmerman Umble
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 0801887895
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 288

Get Book Here

Book Description
"Of all the religious groups in contemporary America, few demonstrate as many reservations toward the media as do the Old Order Amish. Yet these attention-wary citizens have become a media phenomenon, featured in films, novels, magazines, newspapers, and television - from Witness, Amish in the City, and Devil's Playground to the intense news coverage of the 2006 Nickel Mines School shooting. But the Old Order Amish are more than media subjects. Despite their separatist tendencies, they use their own media networks to sustain Amish culture. Chapters in the collection examine the influence of Amish-produced newspapers and books, along with the role of informal spokespeople in Old Order communities.".

Growing Up Amish

Growing Up Amish PDF Author: Ira Wagler
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
ISBN: 1414360703
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 283

Get Book Here

Book Description
New York Times eBook bestseller! One fateful starless night, 17-year-old Ira Wagler got up at 2 AM, left a scribbled note under his pillow, packed all of his earthly belongings into in a little black duffel bag, and walked away from his home in the Amish settlement of Bloomfield, Iowa. Now, in this heartwarming memoir, Ira paints a vivid portrait of Amish life—from his childhood days on the family farm, his Rumspringa rite of passage at age 16, to his ultimate decision to leave the Amish Church for good at age 26. Growing Up Amish is the true story of one man’s quest to discover who he is and where he belongs. Readers will laugh, cry, and be inspired by this charming yet poignant coming of age story set amidst the backdrop of one of the most enigmatic cultures in America today—the Old Order Amish.

Rosanna of the Amish

Rosanna of the Amish PDF Author: Joseph W. Yoder
Publisher: MennoMedia, Inc.
ISBN: 0836197593
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 283

Get Book Here

Book Description
The thrilling narrative of Rosanna McGonegal Yoder, the Irish Catholic baby girl, who lived with an Amish woman, Elizabeth Yoder. All the episodes of Rosanna of the Amish are based on fact. Joseph W. Yoder gives an honest, sympathetic, straightforward account of the religious, social, and economic customs and traditions of the Amish.

Plain and Simple

Plain and Simple PDF Author: Sue Bender
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0061873837
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 191

Get Book Here

Book Description
"I had an obsession with the Amish. Plan and simple. Objectively it made no sense. I, who worked hard at being special, fell in love with a people who valued being ordinary." So begins Sue Bender's story, the captivating and inspiring true story of a harried urban Californian moved by the beauty of a display of quilts to seek out and live with the Amish. Discovering lives shaped by unfamiliar yet comforting ideas about time, work, and community, Bender is gently coaxed to consider, "Is there another way to lead a good life?" Her journey begins in a New York men's clothing store. There she is spellbound by the vibrant colors and stunning geometric simplicity of the Amish quilts "spoke directly to me," writes Bender. Somehow, "they went straight to my heart." Heeding a persistent inner voice, Bender searches for Amish families willing to allow her to visit and share in there daily lives. Plain and Simple vividly recounts sojourns with two Amish families, visits during which Bender enters a world without television, telephone, electric light, or refrigerators; a world where clutter and hurry are replaced with inner quiet and calm ritual; a world where a sunny kitchen "glows" and "no distinction was made between the sacred and the everyday." In nine interrelated chapters--as simple and elegant as a classic nine-patch Amish quilt--Bender shares the quiet power she found reflected in lives of joyful simplicity, humanity, and clarity. The fast-paced, opinionated, often frazzled Bender returns home and reworks her "crazy-quilt" life, integrating the soul-soothing qualities she has observed in the Amish, and celebrating the patterns in the Amish, and celebrating the patterns formed by the distinctive "patches" of her own life. Charmingly illustrated and refreshingly spare, Plain and Simple speaks to the seeker in each of us.

The Body and the Book

The Body and the Book PDF Author: Julia Spicher Kasdorf
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 0271035447
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 230

Get Book Here

Book Description
"A collection of essays by poet Julia Spicher Kasdorf focusing on aspects of Mennonite life. Essays examine issues of gender, cultural, and religious identity as they relate to the emergence and exercise of literary authority"--Provided by publisher.