基本説明
The authors spent twenty-five years researching Amish history, religion, and culture. Drawing on archival material, direct observations, and oral history, they provide an authoritative and sensitive understanding of Amish society.
Full Description
The Amish have always struggled with the modern world. Known for their simple clothing, plain lifestyle, and horse-and-buggy mode of transportation, Amish communities continually face outside pressures to modify their cultural patterns, social organization, and religious world view. An intimate portrait of Amish life, The Amish explores not only the emerging diversity and evolving identities within this distinctive American ethnic community, but also its transformation and geographic expansion. Donald B. Kraybill, Karen M. Johnson-Weiner, and Steven M. Nolt spent twenty-five years researching Amish history, religion, and culture. Drawing on archival material, direct observations, and oral history, the authors provide an authoritative and sensitive understanding of Amish society. Amish people do not evangelize, yet their numbers in North America have grown from a small community of some 6,000 people in the early 1900s to a thriving population of more than 275,000 today. The largest populations are found in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Indiana, with additional communities in twenty-seven other states and Ontario.
The authors argue that the intensely private and insular Amish have devised creative ways to negotiate with modernity that have enabled them to thrive in America. The transformation of the Amish in the American imagination from "backward bumpkins" to media icons poses provocative questions. What does the Amish story reveal about the American character, popular culture, and mainstream values? Richly illustrated, The Amish is the definitive portrayal of the Amish in America in the twenty-first century.
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
Part I
1. Who Are the Amish?
2. European Origins
3. The Story in America
Part II
4. Religious Roots
5. Sacred Rituals
6. The Amish Way
7. Symbols and Identity
Part III
8. Diverse Affiliations
9. Population Patterns
10. Community Organization
11. Gender and Family
12. From Rumspringa to Marriage
13. Social Ties and Community Rhythms
14. Education
Part IV
15. Agriculture
16. Business
17. Technology
18. Health and Healing
19. Government and Civic Relations
20. The Amish in Print
21. Tourism and Media
Part V
22. Pursuits of Happiness
Appendix A
Appendix B
Notes
Bibliography
Index
