November 2022 APASA Café: Topic: Utilizing the “Anabaptist Thing” in Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century German Historical Fiction Presented by Berit Jany Description: The talk explores images of early Anabaptism in selected Austrian, Swiss, and German fictional writing. Through a critical reading of the movement’s representations in historical fiction dating from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the presenter takes inventory of chief characteristics of Anabaptist life and piety and observes which of these aspects are selected for portrayal in fictional texts. This includes an investigation of how authors have fictionalized the Anabaptist movement, its commitment to theological precepts and non-resistance, and its separation from society. The reading of these selected texts is also concerned with underlying programmatic aims and ideological convictions cloaked by literary articulations of encounters between society and fictional representatives of the early movement.

September 2022 Café: Panel Discussion: “On the 50th Anniversary of Wisconsin v. Yoder: Assessing the Complexities of this Milestone Amish Schooling Decision” Panelists: David Cheng (Cheng Law, Inc.), William Fischel (Dartmouth Univ.), Emma Rosenberg (New York Univ.), and Mark Strasser (Capital Univ.). Description: In 1972, the Supreme Court’s decision in Wisconsin v. Yoder ushered in a new era of legal freedoms for the Amish and other plain people, namely, the ability to operate their own schools and the ability to cap educational attainment at eighth grade. Yet, across the past half-century, the Yoder decision’s complexities, even contradictions, have routinely triggered academic and legal debates. To acknowledge 50 years of the Yoder decision, this APASA Café features four law and society scholars who will discuss some of the legal and cultural intricacies of Yoder today. Suggested Reading: Cheng, David Gan-Wing 2012. "Wisconsin v. Yoder: Respecting Children’s Rights and Why Yoder Would Soon Be Overturned." Charlotte Law Review 4:45-. Fischel, William. 2012. "Do Amish One-Room Schools Make the Grade? The Dubious Data of Wisconsin v. Yoder." University of Chicago Law Review 79(1):107-29. Rosenberg, Emma. 2020. "Amish and Hasidic Litigation: A Survival Strategy." Journal of Church and State 63(3):485-505. Strasser, Mark P. 2019. "Yoder's Legacy." Hofstra Law Review 47(4):1335-57.

August 2022 Café: "Why Amish Parents Choose to Send Their Children to Public Schools" (Annual JAPAS Award Lecture) Presented by Steven Thalheimer Abstract: In the 1972 Wisconsin v. Yoder case, the Supreme Court codified the right of Amish parents to withdraw children from compulsory attendance after 8th grade. Yet, 50 years later, Amish parents still send their children to public schools. This study identifies factors that contribute to Amish families choosing to do so. The researcher, doubling as the superintendent of a district in Elkhart County, IN, where one K-8 Amish-supported public school is located, conducted semi-structured interviews with 26 randomly-selected Old Order Amish parents. Thematic coding revealed that parents consider institutional, instructional, and social factors when deciding to send their children to public school. Amish parents do relinquish control on some issues, including no prayer or religious songs amid modern music, information-communications technology, and exposure to non-Amish influences. However, the utility of learning skills and dispositions for the future makes pragmatic negotiations with the public education system worthwhile. Ultimately, parents felt that if they instill faith-based values in their children at home, their children will benefit from public education while still selecting to remain in their faith, dually equipped with reason and skill sets for a changing world. Read the Award-Winning Paper Here: https://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/amishstudies/vol9/iss1/4/