Christian Writers Conference

Lilly Fellows Sponsored Regional Conference on
“Christianity and Core Texts at Global/Cultural Crossroads”

March 30-31, 2023
Grove City College Campus

Thursday, March 30

3:30-4:45 p.m. – Undergraduate paper presentations, Morledge Great Room, Rathburn Hall

• “The Foreign Religion: How Buddhism Informed Responses to Christianity in 17th Century Japan,” Meredith Johnson, Grove City College
• “Depravity, Inherited: Calvin and Coetzee in Conversation,” Sarah Soltis, Grove City College
• “The Significance of Shamanism: Understanding the Korean Religious Landscape,” Joseph Shin, Grove City College

7:30 p.m. – Keynote Address: Gene Luen Yang: “Boxers, Saints, and Coders” (Crawford Auditorium, Crawford Hall)

This lecture is free and open to the Grove City Campus community and public (no registration needed).

Friday, March 31

Please register here if you plan on attending the conference events on Friday.

9-10:15 a.m. – Panel Session 1 (Morledge Great Room, Rathburn Hall)

• “Ancient Christians of the Middle East: Expanding Our Vision of the Christian Community” Sandra Keating, Providence College
• “Protestant Missionaries in Literature: Hagiographic, Fanatical, and Carnivalesque Characters” Christian Davis, Bethel University
• “Approaching Silence: John V. Taylor and the Western Christian Reader” Kristin Barbour, Grove City College

10:30 a.m.-12 p.m. – Panel Session 2 (Morledge Great Room, Rathburn Hall)

• “Christ and Kibogo: Christianity and Rwandan Culture in Scholastique Mukasonga’s Kibogo” Peter Meilaender, Houghton University
• "Classroom Engagement with Colonial Church Histories in the Literature of Maryse Condé and Scholastique Mukasonga" Kelsey Madsen, Grove City College
• ““From Whence My Love of Freedom Sprung”: Black Ecclesial Hermeneutics in Phillis Wheatley’s Christian Poetry” Geoffrey Reiter, Lancaster Bible College

12-1 p.m. – Lunch for conference presenters on campus (Grace Room, Rathburn Hall)

1-2:15 p.m. – Plenary Lecture (Morledge Great Room, Rathburn Hall)

• “'I’ll always be one of us’: Global Ecocriticism Today” Susan VanZanten, Valparaiso University

2:30-3:45 – Panel Session 3 (Morledge Great Room, Rathburn Hall)

• “Reading the Rajah: Rammohun Roy and the Universality of Reform” Elizabeth Baker, Grove City College
• “Christ-Bhakti: N.V. Tilak and Tukaram's Devotional Poetry” Sean Doyle, Geneva College

5:30 p.m. – Dinner for presenters in Mary Ann Pew Banquet Hall

Accommodations

Hampton Inn & Suites Grove City, PA: $109.00 (plus 11% tax) per room per night. Free hot breakfast, indoor pool/hot tub, free shuttle within 10 miles

• Call Direct: 724-748-5744 option 1 ask for the "GCC Writers Conference Room Block"
• Online: GCC Writers Conference Room Block-Hampton Inn & Suites Grove City, PA
• Hilton Honors App: enter Group code: GWC in the special rates section of the app after selecting dates
• Must book rooms by 3/10/23 to guarantee group rate

Candlewood Suites: $99.00 (plus 11% tax) per room per night. Full kitchen in every room, no breakfast, outdoor pool/hot tub (seasonal), free shuttle within 10 miles

• Call Direct: 724-748-6900 option 1 ask for the "GCC Writers Conference Room Block"
• Online: GCC Writers Conference Room Block-Candlewood Suites Grove City, PA
• Must book rooms by 3/10/23 to guarantee group rate

Transportation Information

• Pittsburgh airport is the closest major airport to campus. You can rent a car from there or arrange shuttle service in advance through Tina’s Taxi Service (724-992-3360) or the Hampton Inn if you are staying with them. To reserve a shuttle with Hampton ($175 one way, $300 roundtrip), please contact Stacy Glenn with your dates of stay for the hotel, arrival and/or departure flight date, time, airline, and flight; cell phone, email address.
• We will have free shuttles running regularly from the Hampton Inn and Candlewood Suites to the Grove City College campus throughout the day during the conference days, or you are free to drive and park your own vehicle on campus.