In our lecture on April 1st we covered technology resistance movements. For this blog assignment, you will investigate one of the groups discussed in our lecture: the Amish. Illinois Amish Country is about 25 mins. south of the University campus on Interstate 57, near the town of Arthur, IL.

Part I: Arrange a Meal or Tour. Reserve a meal or tour through the Illinois Amish Interpretive Center.

Choose one Option:

• Meal at an Amish Home
(about 1.5 hours, $15.95 per person + tip) includes Amish cooking: fried chicken, homemade pie, etc.
• Tour of an Amish Home
(1 hour, $4 per person).

Either option requires a group of people -- feel free to arrange this with friends or other students from class. However, if you do not have a group you can contact the Interpretive Center and they will try to match you with a group.

To schedule, call the Illinois Amish Interpretive Center at 1-888-45-AMISH. or email amishcenter@consolidated.net. More information is also available at their web site: http://www.amishcenter.com/.

Part II. Ask about communication technology. Complete the meal or tour. You must arrange for your own transportation and any other arrangements that are required.

During your meal or tour please be respectful at all times and act as a responsible representative of the university so that this assignment can continue in the future. (public education among the Amish may stop at grade 8, so it is unlikely that you will find UIUC alumni among your Amish hosts.)

During the meal or tour, ask questions about communication technologies we have discussed in this class. (The Illinois Amish Interpretive Center has already agreed that it is appropriate to ask questions about communication technologies on these occasions, as they are designed to answer questions about Amish culture.

If you receive permission, take a picture documenting your experience. Do not take pictures without asking for permission first. The Amish people do not wish to be photographed, but it may be possible to take a picture of their homes, of other students, of yourself, etc.

Part III. Write a blog post documenting the experience. In your post please relate the experience to one concept or quotation from your assigned readings. Please be sure to reference C&T Ch. 1, 5, or 6.

Deadline: As an Extra Credit assignment there is no particular deadline -- except that you must post your response to your blog before the class ends. However, these tours take time to arrange: you may want to start right away.