Brainstorm about a culture or ethnic group. (Useful for Mind Map Assignment) Think of all the ways that a culture or ethnic group has impacted the way individuals live, learn, and behave socially. Next, beside each of your top picks with the category’s, clarify for yourself why that impacts the culture or ethnic group specifically. Then write for 5-10 minutes about what outsiders in general might think about the culture or ethnic group. After this, list who on Campus or within a community might be a good insider for information regarding the culture or ethnic group, and why?
Write a profile of a culture or ethnic group that surrounds beliefs, education, and social preferences. Remember this assignment is not about you but about profiling a culture or ethnic group, therefore the essay should be written in 3rd person.
Work to Describe the culture or ethnic groups key features: What makes it a distinct culture or ethnic group, and what experiences or outcomes may someone have who enters that culture or ethnic group reasonably expect?
The profile you provide should work to enlighten your readers about the culture or ethnic group that you have chosen. Your readers should leave your essay not with a general encyclopedia-level understanding of the culture or ethnic group, but with a refreshed and expanded understanding—beyond common knowledge or stereotypes—of what the culture or ethnic group concerns. Focus your paper on 3 key takeaways for your readers.
Audience: First-year college students who have not thought extensively about other cultures or ethnic groups in which you have chosen to write about. They are comprised of an indifferent audience that encounters your essay in a booklet called “Campus Life” written for undergraduates and focusing on the many options for work and study at the College.
Research: If you choose to obtain outside sources you are limited to 2 sources only. Do not use Google. Resources that can be used for this assignment should only be comprised of in-class text, Jstor, or the library. If you choose to utilize quotes from these sources for this paper, you will need to make sure you are introducing the quote or quotes correctly, make sure that it is absolutely necessary to have the author's words exactly and not your own words.
Rationale: This assignment forces you to describe and explain a topic with a sense of your purpose and audience—fundamental concerns for anyone who wishes to write rhetorically. Furthermore, it pushes you to be specific, to commit to 3 key points rather than try to list and explain several points about your topic. Doing this will give you practice organizing your ideas differently than via the five-paragraph theme; this is a crucial step for college writers.
The Amish Community: A Cultural Profile
The Amish are not simply a group that rejected technology; they are a cohesive, enduring society whose every practice is tethered to the bedrock of their faith. Their culture is best understood as a conscious, daily act of separation (Meidung) from the broader society to protect and reinforce their core religious tenets of humility, non-resistance, and community interdependence. For a student encountering the Amish, three key features provide an expanded understanding of this unique way of life.
Key Takeaway 1: Education as Vocational and Faith-Based Formation
The most immediate and distinct feature of Amish life is their approach to education, which officially ends after the eighth grade. This is not a failure to value learning but rather a re-prioritization of its purpose. Amish society believes that knowledge beyond the eighth grade is unnecessary for a life of faith, community, and agrarian labor, and may even be spiritually harmful. They maintain their own private, one-room schoolhouses staffed by Amish teachers who have only an eighth-grade education themselves. This system, upheld by a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) that recognized their religious freedom, serves two critical functions: vocational training and cultural boundary maintenance.
Academics focus on basic literacy, arithmetic, and the knowledge required for farming and domestic skills. By limiting exposure to secular science, history, and modern literature, the school system intentionally minimizes the introduction of ideas that could challenge the authority of the Church, thus safeguarding the community's insular identity. The true education begins after graduation, when children enter a period of informal apprenticeship, learning a trade or running a household—an education geared entirely toward interdependence and service to the community.
Key Takeaway 2: Social Preferences Defined by Gelassenheit (Yielding)
Amish social preferences are governed by the concept of Gelassenheit, a German word that roughly translates to humility, submission, calmness, and yielding to a higher authority. This principle directly shapes their entire social and religious world, making it distinct from Western individualism.
Sample Answer
Profile: The Amish Community
The Amish are a distinct ethno-religious group in North America known for their commitment to a simple lifestyle, plain dress, and reluctance to adopt modern conveniences. Originating from Anabaptist and Swiss-German roots, their culture is defined by separation from mainstream society (known as "the world") to better adhere to their religious principles, which are centered on humility, family, community, and the sanctity of a quiet, agrarian life. The following profile focuses on their unique approach to beliefs, education, and social preferences to provide a deeper understanding beyond common stereotypes.