Baggett shares Jack London expertise through research, symposium

Paul Baggett, associate professor and graduate coordinator of English in the South Dakota State University School of English and Interdisciplinary Studies, can call himself more than just a Jack London fan. Years of his academic inquiry have been dedicated to London’s life and works, and to the impact of all of it on the humanities. 

In October 2023, Baggett attended the 16th Biennial Jack London Society Symposium at The Huntington Library in San Marino, California. The three-day conference brought researchers, independent artists, film makers and more from all over the world to participate in academic panels and present their research on London’s work and life. 

The Huntington is known for its remarkable library holdings, art museum and botanical gardens. The library sits within the botanical gardens, which encompasses 130 acres containing multiple themed gardens and thousands of plants. The museum and gardens are open to the public, while access to the library requires permission ahead of time and is reserved for researchers. 

The Huntington calls itself “one of the world’s great independent research libraries, with more than 11 million items spanning the 11th to the 21st centuries.” One of its largest single-author collections is the Jack London archives. 

As part of his research goals on Jack London and the symposium experience, Baggett set aside time to visit the library. Following a brief review of the manuscripts he wanted to examine, Baggett filled out an application to visit the library, given its private nature. 

Once there, he described sitting in one of the vast reading rooms with different hand-written and typed manuscripts, letters, notes and other elements relevant to his research project. 

Baggett was a presenter at the conference, where he participated in a discussion panel that focused on a book he is included in, “The Nonhuman in American Literary Naturalism.” The book is part of Lexington Books’ Ecocritical Theory and Practice series. 

His paper, which was then turned into a book chapter, examined the cultural significance of a public debate between London and other nature writers of his era. Often described as the “nature faker controversy,” the debate led to President Roosevelt accusing London, one of America’s most famous writers, of anthropomorphism. 

“Anthropomorphism is criticized by scientists,” Baggett explained. “But we do this all the time. We project our own human ideas on to animals and other nonhuman factors in order to explain them.” 

Baggett continued, “So this idea of anthropomorphism I wanted to reconsider. That's the title of my paper, ‘Anthropomorphism Reconsidered,’ because we can never think outside our own human brains. We have to use human language to describe non-human phenomena.” 

The paper was also influenced by London’s short story, “All Gold Canyon.” 

“I was first actually inspired to write this essay when I watched the Coen brothers’ film ‘The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,’ which includes an adaptation of London’s ‘All Gold Canyon’ and engages multiple questions of anthropomorphism.” 

The film features a gold prospector searching for gold in an isolated canyon. Baggett discussed how the story addresses a variety of themes, including the including “the destruction of the nonhuman world resulting from humans’ self-interested pursuits, but also the human capacity for thinking and acting in more ecological responsible ways, which begins with simple acts of observing and appreciating the nonhuman world.” 

Baggett’s research and why London 

Baggett’s research has focused on works by marginalized and oppressed populations, including American Indian literature, African American literature and literature by and about the American working class. 

In recent years, his work shifted toward environmental studies and ecocriticism, which contributed to an invigorated focus on London and his work. 

“But as with much of the work we do in literary studies, my own research resonates with concerns well beyond helping us understand Jack London, per se,” Baggett explained. “I’m fascinated by how London embodies many of the ideological contradictions circulating in American culture at the turn of the 20th century.” 

Baggett continued, “How is it, for instance, that he at once champions the interests of the oppressed — he was especially known for his progressive, socialist politics — but also believes in white supremacy and, like many of his generation, draws from (and distorts) Darwinian thought to legitimate his beliefs in racial hierarchies? And perhaps more importantly, how do such contradictions continue to haunt the cultural politics of the U.S. today, when white nationalist movements are once again on the rise?” 

Baggett finds London’s versatility as both a writer and public figure equally compelling.  While best known for his adventure stories, such as his famous works “Call of the Wild” and “White Fang,” he was a multi-genre writer. “He was also a journalist, a sportswriter, a science fiction writer, a detective novelist, a playwright and a frequent lecturer, all of which contributed to his extraordinary success and public celebrity.” 

In his multi-genre works and throughout his life, London addressed many of the questions still asked today, especially in the humanities. 

“I imagine some — especially those unfamiliar with humanities research — might consider my investigating a single author’s career as laughably narrow, lacking in relevance to larger ‘real-world’ concerns, and out of step with the goals of the modern university,” said Baggett. 

“But as I’ve suggested, the debates we are having now — ­­not only about race, but about land use and our relationship to the environment and to each other — have a long history. Indeed, many of our contemporary debates can be traced back to the 19th century, when many felt the social and political impacts of a rapidly expanding industrialized economy.” 

In his work on London, environmental studies and ecocriticism, Baggett hopes to bridge the gap between the highly specialized research of the STEM disciplines and the interdisciplinary work in the humanities fields, especially explorations into our responsibilities to the nonhuman world. 

“It’s worth noting that one can find many instances in our history when literary figures were responsible for drawing attention to many of the most pressing issues facing the public, perhaps Harriet Beecher Stowe and Upton Sinclair being the most famous examples in American literary history,” explained Baggett. “As we envision different futures for higher education, it will be important that humanities scholars play a pivotal role in shaping that vision and not be relegated to a ‘service’ discipline for the benefit for other fields.” 

What’s next 

Now, Baggett is gaining another opportunity to participate in this in-depth research and dissemination as a volume editor for upcoming work with the Oxford University Press. 

After Baggett published a chapter in “The Oxford Handbook of Jack London” in 2017, an editor for Oxford’s “The Complete Works of Jack London” recruited Baggett to serve as an editor for one of its multiple volumes. 

He will examine the composition and publication history of works by London published in 1906, including “Moon Force and Other Stories,” “Theft: A Four Act Play,” “The Scorn of Women” and “White Fang.” 

A trip back to Huntington Library could be in Baggett’s future to properly immerse himself in London’s works in a top-tier research setting, pending funding security. 

“My archival investigations into the history of London’s 1906 publications will appeal to specialists and casual readers alike, highlighting some of the idiosyncrasies of London himself, while also revealing broader cultural insights,” Baggett said. “The works from this year address a range of historical, socio-political and literary concerns.” 

“I suppose my research is like the work of other humanities scholars as I return repeatedly, in one way or another, to that fundamental question of what it means to be human.”