A New Chapter for The American Experience

PBS’ The American Experience will re-air The Amish on Tuesday, January 28th at 8 p.m. Next week, PBS will premiere The Amish: Shunned on February 4th at 9 p.m.

The Amish draws on the expertise of numerous JHU Press authors, including Donald B. Kraybill, a leading authority on the Amish and editor of the Press’ highly regarded series in Anabaptist and Pietist studies. Filmed over the course of one year, this groundbreaking work features unprecedented access to Amish communities. The film’s producers claim that it is the first documentary to deeply penetrate and explore this attention-averse group.

JHU Press’ companion book, The Amish, is based on twenty-five years of research on Amish history, religion, and culture  by Donald B. Kraybill, Karen M. Johnson-Weiner, and Steven M. Nolt. Donald Kraybill was one of the interview subjects in PBS’ original documentary, and producers consulted the companion book when filming both The Amish and The Amish: Shunned. 

Check back to the blog next week for Karen M. Johnson-Weiner’s explanation of the long-standing Amish practice of shunning.

Here are some notable and bestselling Amish and Anabaptist studies books.

kraybillTheAmish

The Amish

smucker

Amish Quilts: Crafting An American Icon

kraybillRiddleofAmishCulture

The Riddle of Amish Culture

weaver-zercher rev comp.indd

Thrill of the Chaste:The Allure of Amish Romance Novels

Trollinger

Selling the Amish: The Tourism of Nostalgia

johnson-weiner.train

Train Up a Child: Old Order Amish and Mennonite Schools

noltPlainDiversity

Plain Diversity: Amish Cultures and Identities

HurstAmishParadox

An Amish Paradox: Diversity and Change in the World’s Largest Amish Community

umble-weaver-zercher

The Amish and the Media

lehmannolt

Mennonites, Amish, and the American Civil War

StevickGrowingUpAmish

Growing up Amish: The Rumspringa Years second edition (May 2014)

hinojosa

Latino Mennonites: Civil Rights, Faith and Evangelical Culture (March 2014)

shantz comp rev.indd

Introduction to German Pietism: Protestant Renewal at the Dawn of Modern Europe

stoltzfuss

Pacifists in Chains:The Persecution of Hutterites during the Great War

Don’t forget to check out our digital shorts:

Amish and Technology

From Rumspringa to Marriage