In light of the paucity of research emanating from Europe on the Plain People of North America, the conference at Leuphana University Lüneburg (Germany) seeks to initiate new discourses. The aim of the international Anabaptist conference is fourfold: first, to challenge our knowledge of the Plain People as the Other, i.e. people who are simultaneously demonized and exoticized; second, to shift the focus from neo-evangelic and Islamic fundamentalist discourses – especially prevalent in North America after 9/11 – to the study of religious groups who appear to be the exact opposite of fundamentalism; third, to build a network of European scholars of various disciplines dealing with the Plain People, and fourth, to support teachers who work in the area of religious studies and English (with an emphasis on Amish, Mennonite and Hutterite life-writing).