The Amish and the Media

Edited by Diane Zimmerman Umble and David Weaver-Zercher

Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008

Of all the religious groups in contemporary America, few demonstrate as many reservations toward the media as do the Old Order Amish. Yet these attention-wary citizens have become a media phenomenon, featured in films, novels, and television shows―from Witness and Amish in the City to the intense news coverage of the 2006 Nickel Mines School shooting. With essays from experts in the fields of film studies, poetry, anthropology, and history, this groundbreaking collection shows how the relationship between the Amish and the media provides valuable insights into North America’s most renowned counterculture.

“The Amish and the Media represents the best in sensitive scholarship, approaching a people apart in ways that attend to ‘the dignity of difference.’” – Journal of Media and Religion

“A finely crafted volume…The authors write with a knowledge and sensitivity to the topic that is refreshing and that scholars and students should appreciate." – Church History

“The Amish and the Media should be of great interest to scholars and generally educated readers drawn to North American religion and the media." – Mennonite Quarterly Review

“This book will be of interest to anyone who is interested in the media portrayal of the Amish, and to those who want to know more about the issue of religion and the media.” – Conrad Grebel Review