News Release

Donald B. Kraybill, Professor of Sociology and Anabaptist Studies at Messiah College in Grantham, PA, will give a talk, 'The Riddle of Amish Culture,' at noon on Wednesday, Oct. 17, in Shriver Hall on The Johns Hopkins University's Homewood campus, 3400 N. Charles Street in Baltimore.

This talk is based on Kraybill's Johns Hopkins University Press book, which will be available for sale and signing. His talk will focus on the social changes over the past decade in one of America's most distinctive religious communities. These changes involve westward migrations, greater familiarity with technology, and a dramatic shift away from farming and into small businesses without losing community solidarity. Kraybill uses his own and others' research as well as personal interviews with Amish men and women.

He is the author, co-author, and/or editor of many books, including On the Backroad to Heaven (with Carl F. Bowman) and Amish Enterprise, both available from Johns Hopkins.

This lecture is part of the Wednesday Noon Series presented by The Johns Hopkins University Office of Special Events, now in its 36th season of cultural programming on the Homewood campus. This event is cosponsored with The Johns Hopkins University Press and admission is free. For further information, call the Office of Special Events at 410- 516-7157.