Book

A study of acculturation in an Amish community

University MicrofilmsAnn Arbor, MichiganPublished In 1987 • Pages:

By: Smith, Elmer Lewis.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
The author of this source defines his focus as the Amish value system as it relates to socio-cultural continuity and change among the Old Order Amish in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, the author presents no separate, extended discussion of the Amish value system, but rather examines Amish values in a rather cursory way in a discussion of various dimensions of Amish culture and social organization. The dimensions of culture and social organization examined include religion and the church, home, family and kinship, work, dress and personal adornment, social activities, education, life cycle, and prestige, status, and power. He then discusses the implication of Old Order Amish values as he has uncovered them for change in various arenas of Amish life, including residential stability, social interaction within and outside the Amish community, marriage and the family, work, religion and education. The author's general conclusion is rather uninteresting: some Amish values provide avenues for change while others inhibit change and promote cultural continuity and stability. Judging from the author's own comments, he did not achieve a high degree of acceptance by the Amish community in Lancaster County. Thus, one must be suspicious of how thoroughly the author was able to examine the value system of the Old Order Amish. This may account for his rather superficial discussion of values and the relationship between values and socio-cultural change among the Old Order Amish.
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Amish
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2019
RegionThe area the document pertains to
North America
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Regional, Ethnic and Diaspora Cultures
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
Book
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Social Scientist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
4: Excellent Secondary Data
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
Gerald Reid ; 1988
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1949-1954
NotesAdditional notes
by Elmer Lewis Smith
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Syracuse University, 1983
UM 00-16663
Includes bibliographical references
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Amish