Description
Book SynopsisFrom the early 1960s to the late 1980s, John A. Hostetler was the world's premier scholar of Amish life. This book contains four essays 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.
Trade Review“John Hostetler’s quiet influence has reached every aspect of Amish studies. He knows more about the Amish than anyone else, for he combines the experience of being raised Amish, of having Amish siblings, with academic studies on most aspects of Amish culture. . . . But his contributions have gone much further than academia. By influencing the dominant culture, he has contributed to the growth and survival of the culture he chose to leave.”
—Gertrude E. Huntington
“Hostetler's own writings in the book provide explanation and insight into Amish culture, offering interesting and little-known insight into the Amish way of life.”
—Lisa Kellar Pittsburgh Magazine
“Anyone interested in John Hostetler the person and scholar needs to read this volume. Anyone interested in John’s enormous contribution to scholarship and the public understanding of the Amish will find here a fascinating analysis. Anyone interested in the tensions of the scholarly enterprise amidst the pressures of communal and public expectations needs this book as well.”
—John A. Lapp Pennsylvania Mennonite Heritage
“This text covers the subject well and is recommended for school and public libraries.”
—Al Holliday Pennsylvania Magazine
“This insightful and important book, which captures the life of a complex man, opens with a series of chapters by a daughter, colleagues and other scholars who have carefully followed the development of his career and influences.”
—Thomas J. Meyer Mennonite Quarterly Review
“The book brings into focus many facets of Hostetler’s lifework and relates them to one another in an effective and compelling survey.”
—Steven D. Reschly Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography
Table of ContentsContents
List of Illustrations
Foreword
Ann Hostetler
Preface and Acknowledgments
David L. Weaver-Zercher
Part I: Perspectives on John A. Hostetler
1. An Amish Beginning
John A. Hostetler, with Susan Fisher Miller
2. The Redemptive Community: An Island of Sanity and Silence
Donald B. Kraybill
3. Plain Folk and Folk Society: John A. Hostetler’s Legacy of the Little Community
Simon J. Bronner
4. An Uneasy Calling: John A. Hostetler and the Work of Cultural Mediation
David L. Weaver-Zercher
Part II: Writings of John A. Hostetler
5. Letter to Amish Bishops Concerning Shunning (1944)
6. Toward a New Interpretation of Sectarian Life in America (1951)
7. Excerpt from Amish Life (1952)
8. God Visits the Amish (1954)
9. Why Is Everybody Interested in the Pennsylvania Dutch? (1955)
10. The Amish Use of Symbols and Their Function in Bounding the Community (1964)
11. Persistence and Change Patterns in Amish Society (1964)
12. The Amish Way of Life Is at Stake (1966)
13. Old Order Amish Child Rearing and Schooling Practices: A Summary Report (1970)
14. Folk Medicine and Sympathy Healing Among the Amish (1976)
15. The Amish and the Law: A Religious Minority and Its Legal Encounters (1984)
16. Marketing the Amish Soul (1984)
17. A New Look at the Old Order (1987)
18. Toward Responsible Growth and Stewardship of Lancaster County’s Landscape (1989)
The Life of John A. Hostetler: A Chronology
The Publications of John A. Hostetler: A Bibliography
Contributors
Index
