2013 Amish Tech Conference Schedule & Registration
The full schedule for Amish America: Plain Technology in a Cyber World has now been posted, along with paper abstracts and event descriptions.
The conference will take place June 6-8, 2013 at the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College (Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania).
From the conference main page:
The conference will include more than 100 presentations in a variety of formats—plenary lectures, academic papers, panel discussions, seminars, and poster sessions.
Special features: pre-conference field trips, two new book releases, seminars by the producer of the PBS film The Amish and by the federal prosecutor in the recent beard-cutting case in Ohio, traditional Amish singing, and discussion with an Amish author of romance fiction.

The two tours (Health & Medical Services, and Agriculture & Business) are both full, though there is a wait-list option when you register.
Early bird registration ends May 1st, at a cost of $210 ($235 after the deadline up until May 20th), which includes all refreshments and meals.
There are also student rates ($110 by May 1st, $125 after), as well as single-day rates. Members of Plain communities may register at the student rate. You can register online, or mail or fax your registration form.

The Amish and Technology
I plan to be there and look forward to meeting some of you there. Eric, would this be an opportunity to meet?
Osiah, I’ll have a paper at the conference, and though it’s not 100% yet, I will likely be the one presenting it. I will look forward to meeting if you are also planning to be there.
2013 Amish Tech Conference
I wish I could go but I live to far (So California) to make the trip. I can’t wait to here about it after it is over.
This looks like the place to be! Thanks for telling us about the conference. It’s almost like information overload! Erik, will you be speaking (or reading) on Saturday?
Hopefully so Linda. Lot of interesting-sounding presentations on the schedule, I can already tell it would be hard choosing which to attend.
Mark
I know that Mark will be there. He’s coming with his friend Dr. Joe Donnermeyer, professor at OSU and co-author of “A Quiet Moment In Time.” Look for him there.
My kids had Dr. Donnermeyer as their rural sociology prof and he is still one of their favorites out of all the instructors they’ve had. He focuses on the Amish as the bulk of the rural soc course and he has Amish friends come in and speak sometimes. My kids loved how those students not familiar at all with the Amish were mesmerized, and were interested in how it was often hard for the students not from Amish country (many OSU students are, of course) to grasp the whole “Amish thing”, so to speak.
(And who doesn’t love a professor who tosses candy to students for good answers or even just if they hail from Amish country, lol?! 🙂 )
Mark at OSU
Hi Kerry,
Well, that Amishman that came in to speak was most probably my son, Mark. He’s the only one that Dr. Donnermeyer has had speak on campus to Mark’s knowledge. If this speaker also sang a German hymn to the class that was definitely Mark. He’s been guest speaking for Dr. Donnermeyer for a number of years, now.
I’ll have to ask them if they remember any singing. I imagine it WAS him – small world, isn’t it?! I do recall my older one saying that he was “quiet”.
I know they were surprised and interested that an Amishman would come talk to a huge class on a secular campus. Son admired that he would do that, as our immediate area at home is heavily Swartzentruber so most see little community interaction going on with them – he felt that it allowed other students not familiar with the Amish to identify them as real people and not just something to ogle on vacation or in photographs.
Exciting to see this, as I would really enjoy this type of academic conference. Wonder if I could swing a trip to PA… 🙂
Thanks for sharing this information. Wish I could attend, but
my work schedule prevents me from doing so. Hope you can keep
us posted after the conference about availability of recordings or written accounts of the presentations. I’d love to read or listen to many of them. Glad you’re one of the presenters, Erik.
Erik-
I am currently a high-school student interested in attending the upcoming conference, Amish America: Plain Technology in a Cyber World. Also, I would like to take advantage of the opportunity to tour the college campus as I am considering applying to Elizabethtown. Although I am not a college student, would it be appropriate to attend the conference? Thank you for your time!
Claire, I checked, here is the answer from the Conference:
“the answer is YES. She can register at the student rate. But should do it ASAP to get the May 1 discount rate. She may also want to contact the admissions office and they may give her some extra perks.”
I’m not sure if or what those perks might be, but it would probably be good to get in touch with them either way about touring campus while you’re there. http://etown.edu/admissions/
Conference registration links are above.
Thanks so much!
I’m really glad to see that they said yes to her request. 🙂 As an academic, we revel in having high school students attend our national conferences for my content area, so I’m glad to see a similar practice within Anabaptist Studies. I’m sure Claire will have an amazing time!
Some conference 'acts' planned ?
Hello Eric and everybody,
could you please say to me if some ‘acts’/echoes of this conference shall be planned, for people that cannot join ?
Thanks for all and God bless,
Bob.
Bob I’m not sure if I understand, but if you’re asking whether parts of the conference will be recorded/reproduced and shared, I haven’t heard that they will be. Also, I do know that the Young Center is not planning on publishing any of the papers that are given. However they will have copies of the papers, and may therefore be accessible.
Thanks
Thank you Eric,
in fact this is totally what I mean.
Publishing the papers could be very interesting for the Center… and for the visitors of your blog 🙂
Perhaps you’ll give us the honour, if you’re allowed to of course 🙂
Best wishes for your days,
here the sun finally came. Like a late Easter postcard.