The Amish in the American imagination / David Weaver-Zercher.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Weaver-Zercher, David, 1960-

Series:

Center books in Anabaptist studies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Amish--Public opinion--History--20th century.

Amish.

Public opinion--United States--History--20th century.

Public opinion.

Amish--Public opinion.

History.

United States.

Physical Description:

xv, 280 pages : illustrations, map ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, [2001]

Summary:

Enveloped in mystery, Amish culture has remained a captivating topic within mainstream American culture. In The Amish in the American Imagination, David Weaver-Zercher explores how Americans throughout the twentieth 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.

Unlike previous studies that focus on Amish interaction with the broader American culture, The Amish in the American Imagination emphasizes how various members of that larger culture see the Amish and, in turn, what these interpretations reveal about twentieth-century mainstream American culture and society. Weaver-Zercher argues that, through different representations of the Amish, "English" Americans appropriated what they viewed as exotic, rural Americans for ideological, commercial, and spiritual purposes. This engaging book thus identifies the various functions the Amish served for their American neighbors, most of whom led lives far removed from the Amish existence they imagined.

Contents:

1 Claiming America: Pennsylvania Germans and the Amish, 1900-1915 21

2 Civilizing the Amish: The Present as a Usable Past 47

3 Consuming the Simple Life: Buying and Selling the Amish in Postwar America 82

4 Defining the Faith: Mennonites and the Amish Culture Market, 1950-1975 122

5 Projecting the Amish: Witness and the Problem of Amish Voice 152.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [249]-267) and index.

ISBN:

0801866812

OCLC:

45115721