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