Amish America: Plain Technology in a Cyber World
This week I’m flying out to Pennsylvania for a conference on Amish technology, with a focus on medical practices. It’s hosted by the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College, which is the home of a cluster of sociologists who specialize in the Amish culture. Dr. Donald Kraybill and Dr. Steven Nolt, for example. As a bonus, the president of E-town College is a close relative of a couple we met on our trip to France last fall, and he has been very kind in welcoming me to the conference and inviting me to various events I might not have had access to otherwise. So I feel very honored and excited about going!
Here are some of the lectures I’m looking forward to as research for Herb of Grace, the “dokterfraa” book that will be out in August 2014:
- Caring for the Amish: Cultural Sensitivity in Social Work, Mental Health, and Health Care
- Cell Phones, Facebook, and Mass Media
- Health Care: Amish Views and Practices
- And even: Thrill of the Chaste: The Secret Life of an Amish Romance Novel—the book in which I’m quoted!
After the conference is completed, on Saturday afternoon (June 8) I’ll be doing a two-hour booksigning at LifeWay in York, PA, signing the books in the Amish Quilt trilogy. I hope to see as many readers as I can! Then I look forward to going down to Strasburg and sinking into the peace of Amish country for a few days. Along with researching settings for my books and gathering printed sources, it’s a treat to soak up the countryside so that in turn I can drizzle it into my books to give my readers the same experience.
