Architecture and Artifacts of the Pennsylvania Germans: Constructing Identity in Early America Contributor(s): Falk, Cynthia G. (Author) |
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ISBN: 027103338X ISBN-13: 9780271033389 Publisher: Penn State University Press OUR PRICE: $55.39 Product Type: Hardcover Published: October 2008 |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - History | United States - State & Local - Middle Atlantic (dc, De, Md, Nj, Ny, Pa) - History | United States - Colonial Period (1600-1775) |
Dewey: 974.800 |
LCCN: 2007038385 |
Series: Pennsylvania German History and Culture |
Physical Information: 1" H x 8.3" W x 9.7" (2.55 lbs) 256 pages |
Themes: - Chronological Period - 18th Century - Geographic Orientation - Pennsylvania - Cultural Region - Mid-Atlantic - Ethnic Orientation - German |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: How did a mid-eighteenth-century group, the so-called Pennsylvania Germans, build their cultural identity in the face of ethnic stereotyping, nostalgic ideals, and the views imposed by outside contemporaries? Numerous forces create a group's identity, including the views of outsiders, insiders, and the shaping pressure of religious beliefs, but to understand the process better, we must look to clues from material culture. Cynthia Falk explores the relationship between ethnicity and the buildings, personal belongings, and other cultural artifacts of early Pennsylvania German immigrants and their descendants. Such material culture has been the basis of stereotyping Pennsylvania Germans almost since their arrival. Falk warns us against the typical scholarly overemphasis on Pennsylvania Germans' assimilation into an English way of life. Rather, she demonstrates that more than anything, socioeconomic status and religious affiliation influenced the character of the material culture of Pennsylvania Germans. Her work also shows how early Pennsylvania Germans defined their own identities. |
Contributor Bio(s): Falk, Cynthia G.: - Cynthia G. Falk is Assistant Professor of Material Culture at Cooperstown Graduate Program of SUNY Oneonta. |