On holidays, too. Follow us on twitter, like us on facebook. And find our programs and schedule on our website, cspan. Org history. Next on American History tv, a panel of scholars discusses the life and legacy of novelist, journalist, photographer, and social activist jack london. In this twohour program, well see a selection of his photo journalism and learn how the author of the call of the wild has influenced generations of western writers. The bill lane center for the American West and Stanford University libraries cohosted this event. Thank you, bruce. Hello, my name is marc levin, and im an affiliated scholar with the Billing Center for the american center. A program today is called jack london, apostil of the American West. And is being cosponsors by bill lane center for American West and the Stanford University libraries. As bruce was describing, the Billings Center is dedicated to advancing scholarship and Public Education on the past, present, and future of Western North ame
Thank you. Bruce. Hello my name is mark levine. Im an affiliated scholar. Program today is called jack london, apostle of the American West. And its being coupon sorried by Stanford University library ris. As bruce was describing, the center is dedicated to advancing scholarship and public presentation on the past, future of Western North america. This is very appropriate pan ford for them. And the University Library comprehensive range both digital formats in support of research and construction here at stanford. Today we ingnaw grate a new center. It is designed to place a spotlight on the humanities in the American West. Arts west offers the stanford community, innovative public programming on the writers artists and cultural leaders that make it further ground for artistic vision. It offers two distinctive series t great writers of the west focuses on western literary heritage and the great artist of the west elevates the western liberal arts. We begin today with jack london whose
Democracy. That is a shame. It is a disgrace. It is really an open scandal. And we need to do something about that. I would totally embrace the comment that we need you as much as we can, first of all to change our policies we dont incarcerate so many people. And secondly for those people have been incarcerated i think we do over stigmatize them. We do hurt their ability to come out of prison and get on with the gainful, productive life. I wholeheartedly embrace the sentiment of that collect. Host gelled in florida. Caller good morning. I have a question for professor kennedy. Some of us look towards affirmative action us to blacks entering university circuit. I happened to be one who graduated from a Major University, white Major University in the state of ohio. This was before affirmative action. Far too many times there is nothing said about those of us who were participants in the collegiate atmosphere, collegiate i guess academia, that existed before affirmative action. What is hi
America and three the. I would like to thank everyone especially my friend and my poet and everyone else that is here for giving me the pleasure and privilege of sharing what it means to me. And i thought of that before beginning to share with those thoughts and ideas i want to honor two groups. Yesterday i was in such a hurry to actually listen to others. This is the kind of place everybody asks me what is the public of imagination. And i tell them this is the republic of imagination. You have people come communities, publishers. The publishers, leaders, booksellers all of us gathered together and the most important thing is with acts of that acts of imagination and ideas you transcend, you transcend the boundaries that reality is in front of you and you transcend the boundaries of the nationality, religion, language, race and gender. And one of the things about books, book sales and libraries is how central they are. I sometimes feel like a naughty child going to a bookstore and feel
They are, in henry james words, perfectly equipped failures. And i wanted to talk about them beginning with huck finn because i think huck finn is americas literary declaration of independence. And i felt that at the end of huck finn that people started moving out and going to other landscapes of america. So babbitt becomes the antihuck which is the standardization of thought. That is what is really threatening us today, indifference, sleeping consciousness which is all the things that is talked about. Okay. And then carson [inaudible] and then, of course, the great, the incomparable James Baldwin who was not just a writer, not just an africanamerican writer, not just a gay africanamerican writer, not just an american writer, but a writer. Who speaks to all of us and whos so important today. And i think we should remember baldwin. I dont have time to go into it. And i want to end by a quote from mark twain. Mark twain gives a talk to what he calls the mayflower tribes, the descendants