Author: Simon J. Bronner Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi ISBN: 1496822668 Category : Social Science Languages : en Pages : 382
Book Description
Despite predictions that commercial mass culture would displace customs of the past, traditions firmly abound, often characterized as folklore. In The Practice of Folklore: Essays toward a Theory of Tradition, author Simon J. Bronner works with theories of cultural practice to explain the social and psychological need for tradition in everyday life. Bronner proposes a distinctive “praxic” perspective that will answer the pressing philosophical as well as psychological question of why people enjoy repeating themselves. The significance of the keyword practice, he asserts, is the embodiment of a tension between repetition and variation in human behavior. Thinking with practice, particularly in a digital world, forces redefinitions of folklore and a reorientation toward interpreting everyday life. More than performance or enactment in social theory, practice connects localized culture with the vernacular idea that “this is the way we do things around here.” Practice refers to the way those things are analyzed as part of, rather than apart from, theory, thus inviting the study of studying. “The way we do things” invokes the social basis of “doing” in practice as cultural and instrumental. Building on previous studies of tradition in relation to creativity, Bronner presents an overview of practice theory and the ways it might be used in folklore and folklife studies. Demonstrating the application of this theory in folkloristic studies, Bronner offers four provocative case studies of psychocultural meanings that arise from traditional frames of action and address issues of our times: referring to the boogieman; connecting “wild child” beliefs to school shootings; deciphering the offensive chants of sports fans; and explicating male bravado in bawdy singing. Turning his analysis to the analysts of tradition, Bronner uses practice theory to evaluate the agenda of folklorists in shaping perceptions of tradition-centered “folk societies” such as the Amish. He further unpacks the culturally based rationale of public folklore programming. He interprets the evolving idea of folk museums in a digital world and assesses how the folklorists' terms and actions affect how people think about tradition.
Author: Willard H. Smith Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers ISBN: 1579107710 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 619
Book Description
This book is a history of all branches of Mennonites (including the Amish) from their first arrival in the state of Illinois around 1830 to the present. It deals briefly with Mennonite origins in Europe in the 16th century, points out how the Amish split off from the Mennonites in the 1690s, and depicts Mennonite-Amish migrations to America, especially those who came in the 19th century and settled in Illinois. The work portrays the divisions that developed, mostly after the Civil War, and how the story became more complex. It describes the effect of the AwakeningÓ and the influence of Fundamentalism and other forces on the Illinois Mennonites, including the pressures toward American acculturation. The author points out also the significant trend toward cooperation and unity in recent decades, especially among the (Old) Mennonites and the General Conference Mennonites. Smith is uniquely qualified to write this book. He is a native of Illinois with a thorough knowledge and understanding of the customs and beliefs of Illinois Mennonites. His family was among the early Mennonite settlers in the state, and active in the spiritual life of their community. Smith himself has studied and thought history for many years, has written many historical articles, and is the author or several books. As a professor at Goshen College, he had the support of other Mennonite historians and ready access to library and archival material relating to Illinois Mennonites.
Author: Steven D. Reschly Publisher: ISBN: Category : History Languages : en Pages : 294
Book Description
Outstanding Publication Award given by the Communal Studies Association The Amish on the Iowa Prairie, 1840 to 1910 tells the story of how the Amish integrated themselves into a mid-American society, even as they preserved their own culture. Steven D. Reschly traces the Amish in Iowa from their initial settlement in the 1840s, through the community's experiences at the close of the nineteenth century when the rural economy of the United States had matured, and into the early part of the twentieth century. As Reschly demonstrates, the Amish experience of marginality and persecution in early modern Europe led them to develop a repertoire of actions and attitudes that helped preserve their community during migration—an array of cultural practices and religious beliefs that contribute to what the Amish experience as the "portable community". In narratives of critical episodes, supported by quantitative and comparative analysis of census and land records, Reschly explores the paradoxical stability and adaptability of the Amish community in North America. Throughout The Amish on the Iowa Prairie, Reschly develops intricate portraits that illustrate aspects of the portable community, such as innovative agricultural practices, specific migratory patterns, and the Amish practice of distancing themselves from the wider society. He also examines gender and family relations, land ownership and inheritance, and participation in the Civil War, and includes an analysis of the dreams of Bishop Jacob Swartzendruber and the visions of "sleeping preacher" Noah Troyer. What emerges is a depiction of the Amish in Iowa that contradicts the common view that Amish communities are static and resist change.
Author: Arthur R. Schultz Publisher: ISBN: Category : German Americans Languages : en Pages : 712
Book Description
This "work is organized by subject. Materials are grouped under twelve main sections in the body of the work, with appropriate subdivisions and subtopics within each main subject. Each section is assigned a two-letter designation, and entries are numbered consecutively within each section. This subject code system was designed to facilitate referals from the Index to the main body of the text, and to allow for cross-referencing between sections."--Introduction.
Author: John Andrew Hostetler Publisher: Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press ISBN: Category : Amish Languages : en Pages : 440
Book Description
Highly acclaimed in previous editions, this classic work by John Hostetler has been expanded and updated to reflect current research on Amish history and culture as well as the new concerns of Amish communities throughout North America.