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Conference
2018 Living Gateway Conference
Living Gateway Conference Archive
2016 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.
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