Books by Karen M. Johnson-Weiner
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Papers by Karen M. Johnson-Weiner
Yearbook of German-American Studies
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The Journal of Plain Anabaptist Communities, 2021
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The Mennonite Quarterly Review, Apr 1, 2001
Abstract: Old Order Amish women have a greater voice in governing their homes and church communit... more Abstract: Old Order Amish women have a greater voice in governing their homes and church communities than do their sisters in historically related but less conservative Beachy Amish and Fellowship churches. In these modern Anabaptist communities, gender roles are shaped by resolving the competing ideas of male and female embodied in the metaphors of (1) divine hierarchy, in which man is dominant over woman, and (2) the church as the body of Christ, in which male and female have equal responsibility for the church. Each community acts on the ideas expressed in these metaphors according to its broader beliefs about the place of the Christian community in the world. The more the community is engaged with the surrounding society and dependent upon it economically and spiritually, the less likely women in the community are to share in community decision-making. ********** After stopping at a roadside vegetable stand run by an Old Order Amish woman, a colleague lamented the downtrodden state of Amish women, who, as my colleague saw it, live at the beck and call of their husbands, work constantly and have children yearly as long as they are able. Although I recognized in her comments the popular view of Amish women, my research suggests that in many respects Old Order Amish women have greater power and status in their church communities than many "English" or non-Amish women. Indeed, gender roles for Old Order women are actually less restrictive than those for women in Beachy Amish and Fellowship churches, the more "worldly" offshoots of the Old Order Amish. (1) Although access to some modern conveniences appears to have liberated Beachy and Fellowship women to some degree from household chores, they are, in fact, isolated in a more narrowly defined domestic arena than are Old Order women. They lack a voice in church meetings, in the selection of church leaders and in discussions of church practice that shape daily life. Despite their differences, the Old Order Amish, Beachy Amish and Fellowship church communities share an Anabaptist commitment to the primacy of scripture as the guide to Christian life and Christian behavior; each group relies on the Bible in organizing the church community. Each group argues that both church and family should reflect a divine hierarchy that positions God over all and man over woman. At the same time, however, each group defines the church as the embodiment of Christ, in which each member, male and female alike, is equally responsible. Moreover, all of these groups ground their assumptions about gender in the broader context of the need for Christians to remain separate from the evils of a hostile world. In the world but not of it, the church community must carefully position itself vis-a-vis the sinful world upon which it is economically dependent. Finally, drawing on the analogy of the single grain of wheat--which, alone, cannot be a loaf of bread--individual members of these church communities must live with others in a proper relationship as revealed in the Bible and defined by the church. On these basic points the Old Order Amish, the Beachy Amish and the Fellowship groups are in general agreement. The Old Order Amish differ from the others, however, in lifestyle, intra-community interaction and their relationship to the dominant society. These differences have important consequences for Old Order Amish understandings of gender roles. Whereas Old Order women share privileges and responsibility with Old Order men in virtually all domains of social interaction, Beachy and Fellowship women are excluded from active participation in community governance and important arenas of church activity and are subordinate to men in social relationships. At the heart of these differences are competing notions of Christian duty and the relationship of the Christian community to the world. The more engaged the community is with the world--and dependent upon it for economic or spiritual existence--the greater is the emphasis on ordered, gendered hierarchy at the expense of generalized gender equality. …
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The Journal of Plain Anabaptist Communities
Letter writing is one method researchers can use to build on their in-person fieldwork experience... more Letter writing is one method researchers can use to build on their in-person fieldwork experience. Through letters, a researcher can approach the Amish in a way that equalizes the exchange, allowing the correspondent the time and space to consider their responses. Moreover, while a visit from a non-Amish researcher interrupts daily activity, reading and writing letters remains a daily activity in the Amish world, especially among Amish women. Researchers may find that correspondence opens new areas of inquiry as Amish writers make connections to topics and subjects the researcher had not considered. By revealing deeper aspects of daily life, correspondence can force researchers to rethink their stereotypes and assumptions. Finally, the author reflects on some of the challenges of correspondence as a research method.
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Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
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Mennonite Quarterly Review LXXV (2): 231-256, Apr 2001
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Journal of sociolinguistics, Jan 1, 1998
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Studies on the Language and Verbal Behavior of the …, Jan 1, 1989
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Diachronic Studies on the Languages of the …, Jan 1, 1992
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Quarterly of the St. Lawrence County Historical …, Jan 1, 1999
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Paper delivered at the annual convention of the …, Jan 1, 1990
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The tenth LACUS forum, Jan 1, 1984
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Lacus Forum (The...), Jan 1, 1988
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The Mennonite quarterly review, Jan 1, 2008
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Books by Karen M. Johnson-Weiner
Papers by Karen M. Johnson-Weiner