1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910798247903321

Autore

Nolt Steven M. <1968->

Titolo

The Amish : a concise introduction / / Steven M. Nolt

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Baltimore, Maryland : , : Johns Hopkins University Press, , 2016

©2016

ISBN

1-4214-1957-2

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (153 p.)

Collana

Young Center Books in Anabaptist and Pietist Studies

Disciplina

289.7/3

Soggetti

Amish - United States - Social life and customs

Amish - History

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

1. Meet the Amish -- 2. Amish roots -- 3. Living the old order -- 4. Community and church -- 5. Rumspringa : Amish gone wild? -- 6. Family and schooling -- 7. Work and technology -- 8. The Amish and their neighbors -- 9. Amish images in modern America -- Appendix A. Amish spirituality -- Appendix B. Related groups.

Sommario/riassunto

There seems to be no end to our fascination with the Amish, a religious minority that has both placed itself outside the mainstream of American culture and flourished within it. Yet most people know very little about the nuanced relationship the Amish have with society or their own communities. Drawing on more than twenty years of fieldwork and collaborative research, Steven M. Nolt's The Amish: A Concise Introduction is a compact but richly detailed portrait of Amish life. In fewer than 150 pages, readers will come away with a clear understanding of the complexities of these simple people. Writing in engaging and accessible language, Nolt explains how the Amish at once operate within modern America and stand very much apart from the world. Arguing that Amish life is shaped equally by internal and external social, political, and economic contexts, Nolt explores Amish identity as emerging from a complex cultural negotiation with modernity. He takes on much-hyped topics such as Rumspringa and reveals the distinctive Amish approach to technology. He also explains how Amish principles stand in contrast to contemporary American



values, including rational efficiency, large-scale organization, and Western notions of individuality. Authoritative, informative, and illustrated, this guide provides a vivid introduction to a way of life many find fascinating but few truly understand.