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The Living Gateway Conference

Conference Schedule and Recorded Sessions

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.

The Good Earth, the movie (1938)

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

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