Reviews
Essential. All readership levels.
This volume admirably expands its analysis of culture to include the visual, from Taufscheine to Hollywood movies...
This book is a tour de force of Pennsylvania German history, language, and culture and points to many directions for future reserach... Considering the disciplinary breadth, array of methodological approaches, and theoretical foundations, this volume should succeed in starting important dialogues.
Here is a long-overdue and magisterial encyclopedia on the German-speaking peoples’ achievements in North America. Masterfully enhancing traditional approaches, this book sets new standards for practicing Pennsylvania German studies in our times and changes the way we think about the Pennsylvania Germans’ impact on North America.
Guaranteed to inspire future research in the field of study, this thought-provoking and comprehensive overview of the Pennsylvania Germans will broaden the discussion of the culture’s presence and diaspora throughout North America, not merely as a relic of a preindustrial past, but as a modern, dynamic, American identity.
An outstanding collection that describes Pennsylvania Germans' varied contributions to American society. Chronological overviews of German immigration and specialized essays on language, religion, literature, art, architecture, material culture, food, and folklife highlight this engaging volume that is an essential addition to any library.
Everything about this anthology treating the numerous facets of Pennsylvania German studies is encyclopedic, comprehensive, multidisciplinary, and thoroughly riveting. As a compendium for the scholar and the interested lay person, Pennsylvania Germans offers up-to-date insights into an amazingly broad range of topics including history, language, literature, religious practice, material culture, cuisine, powwowing, folklife, and popular culture.
Book Details
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Pennsylvania German Studies
Simon J. Bronner and Joshua R. Brown
Part 1: History and Geography
1. The Old World Background
Mark Häberlein
2. To the New World
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Pennsylvania German Studies
Simon J. Bronner and Joshua R. Brown
Part 1: History and Geography
1. The Old World Background
Mark Häberlein
2. To the New World: Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries
John B. Frantz
3. Communities and Identities: Nineteenth to the Twenty-First Centuries
Diane Wenger and Simon J. Bronner
Part 2: Culture and Society
4. The Pennsylvania German Language
Mark Louden
5. Language Use among Anabaptist Groups
Donald B. Kraybill, Steven Nolt, and Edsel Burdge, Jr.
6. Religion
John B. Frantz
7. The Amish
Karen Johnson-Weiner and Joshua R. Brown
8. Literature
Sheila Rohrer
9. Agriculture and Industries
R. Troy Boyer
10. Architecture and Cultural Landscapes
Gabrielle Lanier
11. Furniture and Decorative Arts
Lisa Minardi
12. Fraktur and Visual Culture
Lisa Minardi
13. Textiles
Candace Perry
14. Food and Cooking
Yvonne Milspaw
15. Medicine
David W. Kriebel
16. Folklore and Folklife
Simon J. Bronner
17. Education
William W. Donner
18. Heritage and Tourism
William W. Donner
19. Popular Culture and Media
Simon J. Bronner
Contributors
Index