Pearl S. Buck International Symposium

November 4-5, 2021

Welcome and Opening Comments from WVU Host 

Plenary Session #1

“Harmony and Coexistence: The New Trend of Pearl S. Buck Research in the New Era”

Zeng Jingting, Associate Director and Deputy Dean of School of Foreign Languages, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology

Plenary Session #2

“Pearl S. Buck and the Korean Independence Movement, 1919-1945”

Chong-ko Choi, President of Korea Pearl S. Buck Research Association; Emeritus Professor of Law, Seoul National University; poet

Plenary Session #3 

“Pearl S. Buck’s Vision for a Living Gateway”

Phyllis Lubin-Tyler, Site Coordinator of the Pearl S. Buck Birthplace in Hillsboro, West Virginia; independent scholar

Plenary Session #4

“An Overview of Pearl S. Buck Studies in China”

Professor Lu Zhangping, Doctoral Supervisor of Jiangsu University; President of Zhenjiang Pearl S. Buck Research Association; Counselor of Jiangsu Province Government; and former Director of Jiangsu University Library

Plenary Session #5

“Pearl S. Buck’s View of Traditional Korean Culture in The Living Reed: An Essay”

Chung-ho Chung, Vice President of Korea Pearl S. Buck Research Association; Professor Emeritus of English Literature, Chungang University; literary critic

Closing Remarks from WVU Host

September 11, Sunday

6:00 p.m. - 7:20 p.m.

Plenary Session A: Opening the Gateway 

"The Pearl S. Buck Manuscripts Collection: A Collaboration to Promote One of America ''s Foremost Writers, " Brett Miller, West Virginia Wesleyan College; Kirk Judd, Pearl S. Buck Birthplace Foundation; and John Cuthbert, West Virginia University (WVU)

7:30 p.m. - 9:45 p.m.

Film Screening: "The Good Earth " (1937)

September 12, Monday

9:00 a.m. - 10:20 a.m.

Concurrent Session A: PSB in the context of China - Room 115

• "Chinese Culture 'Going Global': Pearl S. Buck's Methodological Inspiration," Junwei Yao, Nanjing Normal University
• "'Always in Love with Great Ends': Pearl S. Buck's Response to Sun-Yatsen and his Nationalist Revolution," David Gordon, Shepherd University
• "Christianity in the Crucible: The Reinvention of American Missions in China before the Sydenstrickers, 1860-1880," John Haddad, Penn State Harrisburg

Concurrent Session B: Comparative Approaches to PSB - Room 110 / 111

• "The Good Earth: A Comparison of the Life of Farm Women in China and Appalachia During the Early 20th Century," Annie Fleming, West Virginia Wesleyan College
• "The Importance of 'Land' in the Literature of the Great Depression: Pearl S. Buck's The Good Earth," Danny Franke, Alderson Broaddus University
• "'Not having to be alone/is happiness' (Chia Tao [779-843]): The Cal Price Writing Workshops at the Pearl Buck Birthplace as Catalyst for a Global Writing Community," Rob Merritt, Bluefield College

10:40 a.m. - Noon

Concurrent Session C: Pearl's Husbands - Room 115

• "John Lossing Buck: Global Agriculturalist, Scientist, and Writer," Susie Woodland, Pearl S. Buck Writing Center (PSBWC)
• "Richard J. Walsh: Publisher, Activist, Partner, and Father," Jean Silvernail, PSBWC

Concurrent Session D: Literary and Cinematic Contexts for PSB - Room 110 / 111

• "Gateways into The Good Earth: Myth and Archetype in Pearl S. Buck's Classic Novel," Carol Breslin, Gwynedd Mercy University and PSBWC
• "Beyond the 'Gaze': Tess Slesinger's Good Earth (MGM 1937)," Anna Elfenbein, WVU
• "Interpreting the Human Subjectivity in The Good Earth trilogy," Yao Wang, Nanjing Normal University

12:15 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.

Plenary Session B: Building a Bridge (lunch included) - Grand Hall A

• "China's Recent Realization: The Real Peasant Life Portrayed by Pearl S. Buck," Kang Liao, Defense Language Institute and Middlebury Institute for International Studies
• "The Pulitzer Prize @ 100 - The Prize History, the Winners and the Work", Keven Ann Willey, Vice President and Editorial Page Editor, Dallas Morning-News and Co-Chair, Pulitzer Prize Board

2:00 p.m. - 3:20 p.m.

Concurrent Session E: PSB's Humanitarian Legacy - Room 115

• "An Overview of the Humanitarian Legacy of Pearl S. Buck," Janet Mintzer, Pearl S. Buck International(PSBI)
• "PSBI and PSB Studies in China," Zhang Danli, Nanjing Normal University

Concurrent Session F: PSB and Social Change I [Special Pulitzer Campfires theme] - Room 110/111

• "'Cockeyed Optimists and Careful Dreamers': How the Artistry and Optimism of Pearl S. Buck, James Michener, and Oscar Hammerstein II Changed America's Awareness of Asia through Musical Comedies," Anne Kaler, Gwynedd Mercy University and PSBWC
• "Pearl S. Buck's Promising Legacy in Korea: The PSBFK and the Growth of Multiculturalism in South Korea," T.J. Park, West Virginia State University
• "Pearl Buck as a Social Activist," Karen Vuranch, Concord University

3:40 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Concurrent Session G: PSB and Food - Room 115

• "Pearl S. Buck's Oriental Cookbook," Melanie Campbell, Davis and Elkins College

Concurrent Session H: PSB and Social Change II [Special Pulitzer Campfires theme] - Room 110/111

• "Experiencing a Revolution and Establishing a Mixed-Race Adoption Agency," Edgar Roosa, PSBWC
• "Pearl, Quan Yin, and the Western Goddesses," Anne Kaler, Gwynedd Mercy University and PSBWC

7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Plenary Session C: Returning to Life (dinner included)

• "History Alive! Performance of Pearl S. Buck," Karen Vuranchs (Part 1)
• "History Alive! Performance of Pearl S. Buck," Karen Vuranchs (Part 2)

September 13, Tuesday

9:00 a.m. - 10:20 a.m.

Concurrent Session I: PSB, War, and Accountability [Special Pulitzer Campfires theme] - Room 115

• "Pearl Buck, Raphael Lemkin, and the Struggle for the Genocide Convention," David M. Crowe, Elon University
• "Pearl S. Buck's Investigation and Research into the Effects of the Atomic Bombs on all Humankind as seen in her novel Command the Morning," John McCabe, PSBWC

Concurrent Session J: PSB's Personal Journey - Room 110/111

• "Chasing Pearl: One Woman's Journey into the Life and Times of Pearl S. Buck," Angela Kraus
• "Will the Real Pearl Buck Please Stand Up? The Many Names of Pearl S. Buck," Cynthia Louden, PSBWC
• "West Virginia's Nobel Laureates: Pearl S. Buck and John Nash," Mark Wilson, WVU Tech

10:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

Closing Session: Grand Hall A