Messiah College educators contribute to book about the relationship of the Amish and the media
April 1st, 2008
GRANTHAM, Pa. (April 1, 2008) – The new book, “The Amish and the Media,” offers the first scholarly treatment of the relationship between the Amish and the media in contemporary American life. Through a series of essays from experts in film and media studies, poetry, American studies, anthropology and history, the book examines the Amish as both subjects of mainstream media attention and as consumers and producers of media.
David Weaver-Zercher, associate professor of American religious history at Messiah College, is co-editor of “The Amish and the Media” with Millersville University Professor of Communication Diane Zimmerman Umble. The book includes an essay from Crystal Downing, professor of English and film studies at Messiah College, entitled “Witnessing the Amish: Plain People on Fancy Film.”
Weaver-Zercher is the author or editor of six books, four about the Amish, including “The Amish in the American Imagination” (John Hopkins University Press, 2001); “Writing the Amish: The Worlds of John A. Hostetler” (Penn State University Press, 2005); and “Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy” (Jossey Bass, 2007).
“The Amish and the Media” is available through Johns Hopkins University Press at www.press.jhu.edu/books/title_pages/9503.html.
Messiah College, a private Christian college of the liberal and applied arts and sciences, enrolls 2,800 undergraduate students in 55 majors. Established in 1909, the primary campus is located in Grantham, Pa., near the state capital of Harrisburg. A satellite campus affiliated with Temple University is located in Philadelphia.