It was very, very churchy”

Recollections of Older Dutch-Americans on Growing up in Holland, Michigan

Bibliographic Data

ID11077898
AuthorsPeter Ester (corresponding author)
Year2008
Volume35
Issue2
Pages117-138
Publication date2008-07-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Oral History Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0094-0798 • E-ISSN: 1533-8592
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/ohr/ohn024
OpenAlexW1974682047
LanguageEN
References cited8

This article pictures the youth memories of older Dutch-Americans who grew up in the “Dutch enclave” of Holland, Michigan. This area is heavily populated by Dutch immigrants sharing traditional Calvinist religious values, norms, and beliefs. Findings are based on oral interviews among a sample of older respondents from the area. The study combines a generational approach with an oral history methodology. Results indicate that respondents cherish their formative years, their Dutch-American upbringing, and feel that their socialization in strict values, norms, and beliefs had lasting effects on their personal life course and life style. It is concluded that combining generational theory and the methodology of oral history opens very promising interdisciplinary perspectives.

Formative assessment · Immigration · Oral history · Pedagogy · Socialization · Sociology · Style (visual arts) · Anthropology · Data Analysis and Archiving · Gender Studies · History · Medicine · Oral History, Memory, Narrative Analysis · Psychology · Social Psychology · Gerontology

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