What’s in a boundary? Exploring the subcultural dynamics that protect the Amish way of life in a high-tech world.Lindsay Ems

Prior to industrialization we made sense of the world in small groups

“For all their claims to antiquity, many of the nations of Europe have been nations for only the briefest of times. For most of history they were rivalrous territories, kingdoms, duchies, principalities, and city-states. They were bound by language and culture—and riven by tribalism.” Peter Coy, Businessweek, 09.19.12

With industrialization, came anomie

Anomie describes a lack of social norms and the breakdown of social bonds between an individual and their community; an absence of accepted social standards or values.-Emile Durkheim, Suicide (1897)

Anomie was characterized by an associated feeling of alienation and purposelessness.

In today’s world, we are

members of numerous pseudo-tribes and, at the same time, are still “just a number”

Patrimonial vs. Bureaucratic

Today’s bi-level challenge:

Problem 1: Equilibrium not found/maintained

Problem 2: Disjointed sense of self

Pessimistic researchers say, new technologies :

-Cause us to underestimate our own worth in relation to others (Markway & Markway 2012).

-Weaken our sense of what is real (Gold & Gold 2012)

-Act as substitutes for, and complicate, authentic human emotional and cognitive connection (Turkle 2011).

-Weaken our ties to each other as well as our individual moral character (Sennett 1998).

-Subject intimate relationships to government and corporate surveillance, helping to generate profits and ensure social control. (Morozov 2011).

Where I’m headed:

-Out of what dynamics do these kinds of subcultures take shape? -What binds people together in them?-What social function do they serve, if any? -How are communication technologies used and how do they influence these phenomena?

Boundaries are hard to define in today’s subcultures

subculture

individualsubculture

subculture

Why are boundaries important? Anomie = fractured individuals, purposelessness

Enter, the Amish.

But, why the Amish? They draw real boundaries in complex ways.

selling online (and using cell phones) today is “a matter of survival.”

Decisions about technology use are manifestations of their subcultural boundary in a changing world. And the boundary is a manifestation of deeper dynamics.

Their decisions about what to accept and what to reject are not haphazard, but based on a complex logic.

This logic represents a compromise between protecting religious philosophies and traditions and maintaining financial viability as the outside economy changes .

My dissertation will investigate the dynamic process of boundary-drawing in Amish subcultures. In particular, I will focus on the role new technologies play in the definition of these boundaries.

Amish subcultureNon-Amish world

Amish subcultureNon-Amish world

Additionally, I want to understand how the underlying dynamics result in a boundary being drawn or re-drawn.

How will I do this?

In the working sphere of Amish life, they are most likely to come into contact with the outside world and, thus, use new technologies to do so. So, I will study the Amish where they work.

Ethnographic methods:-Participant-observation-Interviews-Work alongside Amish in a business, store or shop.

I will travel around the U.S. (hopefully, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Iowa, at least) and make contact with members of different Amish communities. I will ask about their technological practices and observe them as well. I have already started doing this in Shipshewanna, Indiana and Daiviess County Indiana.

I realize there will be issues in gaining access to the Amish. So far, I have not had much trouble. Much of my data collection work, will involve making connections and arranging to speak with and observe members of different Amish communities.

What are some potential contributions of this project?

- An understanding of how a distinct subculture is defined and maintained over time

- New language or analytics with which to begin making sense of the dynamic process that binds people together into groups that help them avoid feeling alienated, fractured or off balance and give them a sense of being rooted and having purpose in today’s socio-technical world.

- A fresh understanding of how the Amish are adapting to a changing economy and what their technology use looks like today.

- An exploration of the ways that technologies and subcultures impact the process of work and the quality of the product or service being produced.

Thank you!

lems@indiana.edu

Who are the Amish?

- Privilege community over individual- wear simple homemade clothes

- Men work the land, women do housework and raise children

- Live similarly to 19th century ancestors

- Diverse Christian religious community mostly living in the United States

- No electricity, TV, radio, cars. Telephones reside outside the home

- After given a choice, 90% of Amish youth decide to lead Amish lives

- Those who do not are banned from communicating with Amish family and friends

- Today, the economy is changing and pushing Amish from small farms to work in the tourism industry– putting them in closer contact with the outside world.

Technologically enhanced/afforded subcultures

Subcultures

We used to know who is in or out by:-Kinship ties-Shared norms/values-Dress-Language use

What all of these have in common though, is group membership is identified by adherence to a specific set of socio-technical practices

Today, members of many ofthese groups are also drawn together by specific topicalinterests:

- beer- travel- civil liberties- knitting- tinkering- sports- illnesses