Fiche de révision : Being Amish et modernité

📋 Plan du Cours

1. Découverte du mode de vie amish
2. Rumspringa et choix religieux
3. Repères historiques et culturels
4. Témoignages de Barbie et Bates
5. Ironie de Amish Paradise
6. Quitter ou transformer la communauté

📖 1. Découverte du mode de vie amish

🔑 Notions clés & Définitions

• Amish way of life : Old-fashioned, secluded, traditional and plain, with restrictions such as no technology, homeschooling and no cars.

📝 Points essentiels

• 🔄 The oral comprehension activity follows four steps:
  1. Choose a number and an event
  2. Watch the attached video several times
  3. Take notes
  4. Write a summary and present it to the class

💡 Astuce mémo

Vie simple et traditionnelle contre monde moderne

📖 2. Rumspringa et choix religieux

🔑 Notions clés & Définitions

• Rumspringa : An Amish tradition during which young people, at age 16, discover the world and experience life outside their community.

📝 Points essentiels

📌 The Amish believe that faith is a choice and should not be imposed on young people.

💡 Astuce mémo

Découvrir le monde → choisir librement sa foi

📖 3. Repères historiques et culturels

★ À maîtriser

• The Amish have Swiss German origins and migrated to Pennsylvania in the 18th century.

• The Amish movement was founded by Jacob Amman, and the Swiss and Alsatian Mennonites separated in 1693.

• The Amish speak Pennsylvania Dutch, children attend school only until the 8th grade, and men work on farms, in shops and on barn construction.

Compléments

• There are more than 300,000 Amish people in the United States, and they live in 33 states, with Pennsylvania having the largest population.

💡 Astuce mémo

PBT : plain lifestyle, buggy, Pennsylvania Dutch

📖 4. Témoignages de Barbie et Bates

🔑 Notions clés & Définitions

• Leaving My Amish World : Leaving My Amish World - An extract from an autobiography written by Eirene Eicher in 2019 about the pain of leaving the Amish community after spending her childhood there.

★ À maîtriser

📌 Barbie feels watched and pressured because her family controls her choices, whereas Bates feels restricted, is expelled after getting a mohawk and drunk, and considers his rejection unfair.

📌 Eirene Eicher describes a joyful and peaceful childhood with her brothers but also recalls chores, hard work and the unfair fact that her brother could attend school while she could not.

Compléments

• Barbie is 22 years old, is the preacher’s daughter in one of the strictest Amish communities, and spends her days sewing, baking and ironing.

💡 Astuce mémo

Barbie subit le contrôle familial, Bates subit l’exclusion

📖 5. Ironie de Amish Paradise

★ À maîtriser

• The song associates the Amish with:
  • no fun and no life
  • no cars and no technology
  • buggies
  • milking cows
  • barns
  • simple life
  • hard work
  • conformity

📌 The song Amish Paradise uses an ironic, sarcastic and humorous tone, including colloquial expressions such as “homies” and “heinie”.

Compléments

• The expression “turning the other cheek” refers to pacifism and to respecting and loving others according to the Bible.

💡 Astuce mémo

Vie religieuse austère décrite par un humour moderne

📖 6. Quitter ou transformer la communauté

★ À maîtriser

📌 To express contrast, English uses connectors such as but, whereas and while to oppose ideas or points of view.

📌 Concession presents an unexpected opposition: although or even though introduces a difficulty, while the main clause states the resulting or contrasting fact.

• In In Amish Country, the Future Is Calling, Amish businesses use modern technology because it helps them sell handmade products on a wider scale. - Kevin Granville and Ashley Gilbertson, Sept. 15, 2017

📌 Marilyn accepts some technology because phones are useful in emergencies, whereas John accepts phones only outside the house and Lizzie fears that phones may replace God and create addiction.

Compléments

• The Amish are increasingly aware of the dangers of modern technology, especially distraction, obsession, addiction and reduced human interaction.

💡 Astuce mémo

Liberté et technologie → tensions avec la communauté et la foi

📊 Tableaux de synthèse

Réactions amish à la technologie