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Publication of a book on the Amish in twentieth-century America, along with the convening of a conference devoted to that subject, and creation of a website about the Amish and an annotated bibliography of Amish studies. (36 months)

Elizabethtown College (PA) requests $257,583 for a three-year collaborative research grant to support three scholars and two research associates in a study of the transformation of Amish diversity and identity in 20th century America. Despite their rejection of many aspects of 20th century America--the automobile, public electricity, television, computers, high school education, and Social Security--the Amish have flourished. Using historical documents and oral histories, the project will explore: 1) the growth of Amish diversity, 2) the construction of Amish identity, 3) changing American conceptions of the Amish, and 4) Amish contributions to American self-understandings of religious liberty. The project will boost our scholarly knowledge of the Amish and disseminate the results by producing: 1) a seminal book on the Amish in the 20th century, 2) a major academic conference, 3) an annotated bibliography of Amish studies, and 4) an academic website for scholars and students. The interdisciplinary study will provide the first scholarly synthesis and understanding of the Amish in the American experience in the 20th century. Outcomes of the project will provide resources to stimulate new research in the humanities on the Amish and other religious subcultures.