Eastern Mennonite University

A Century of Countercultural Education

Donald B. Kraybill

• Publisher: Penn State University Press
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9780271080604
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: History of Education

In this unique educational history, Donald B. Kraybill traces the sociocultural transformation of Eastern Mennonite University from a fledgling separatist school founded by white, rural, Germanic Mennonites into a world-engaged institution populated by many faith traditions, cultures, and nationalities.

The founding of Eastern Mennonite School, later Eastern Mennonite University, in 1917 came at a pivotal time for the Mennonite community. Industrialization and scientific discovery were rapidly changing the world, and the increasing availability of secular education offered tempting alternatives that threatened the Mennonite way of life. In response, the Eastern Mennonites founded a school that would "uphold the principles of plainness and simplicity, " where youth could learn the Bible and develop skills that would help advance the church. In the latter half of the twentieth century, the university's identity evolved from separatism to social engagement in the face of churning moral tides and accelerating technology. EMU now defines its mission in terms of service, peacebuilding, and community.

Comprehensive and well told by a leading scholar of Anabaptist and Pietist studies, this social history of Eastern Mennonite University reveals how the school has mediated modernity while remaining consistently Mennonite. A must-have for anyone affiliated with EMU, it will appeal especially to sociologists and historians of Anabaptist and Pietist studies and higher education.

Table of contents

• COVER front
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• Notes to Preface
• Chapter 1: The Cyclone of Modernity
• Notes to Chapter 1
• Chapter 2: Vision Blurred, Hope Deferred
• Notes to Chapter 2
• Chapter 3: The Experiment at Assembly Park
• Notes to Chapter 3
• Chapter 4: Fighting for the Truth
• Notes to Chapter 4
• Chapter 5: Fortifying the Fortress
• Notes to Chapter 5
• Chapter 6: Will the Fortress Stand?
• Notes to Chapter 6
• Chapter 7: The Ferment of Freedom
• Notes to Chapter 7
• Chapter 8: Engaging a Turbulent World
• Notes to Chapter 8
• Chapter 9: Crisis, Retrenchment, Rejuvenation
• Notes to Chapter 9
• Chapter 10: Justice, Mercy, and Peace for a New Century
• Notes to Chapter 10
• Chapter 11: Progressive Vision, Changing Mission
• Notes to Chapter 11
• Chapter 12: An Experiment like No Other
• Notes to Chapter 12
• Bibliography
• Index
• COVER back