Robert J. Schwendinger

Education

• 1964-67: MFA, University of Iowa, Iowa City - English (American Literature, Literature of the Sea), Creative Writing. Professors included Vance Bourjaily, Nelson Algren, Richard Yates, William Murray, and R.V. Cassill
• 1962: MA, University of the Americas - Mexico Literature, Journalism
• 1958-60: BA, University of the Americas - English, History, Philosophy, Journalism
• 1956-57: New School for Social Research, N.Y. - Creative Writing. Professor/Author: William Goyen

Employment in Teaching

• I taught in the classroom twenty-five years at such campuses as the University of Wisconsin Center System, University of Santa Clara, San Jose State University, San Francisco State University, and the Colleges of San Jose City, Chabot, and Laney.
• I taught a wide spectrum of composition courses, as well as Creative Writing, American, British, and World Literatures, Humanities of the Sea (Literature, Folklore, History), Writing Articles for Newspapers and Magazines, and Technical Writing. While at the University of Wisconsin I was a member of the system-wide Human Rights Committee and initiated consideration of courses that were sensitive to the ethnic experience. One result was the development of a multidisciplinary course titled, The Nature of Prejudice. I had a full time graduate assistantship at the University of Iowa and taught literature courses as well as taking part in a pilot project that integrated humanities in the School of Engineering. I also taught Novels of the Utopias as part of the project. I was a founding member of a campus literary magazine as well as an advisor to a campus newspaper. I was also a member of Lecture and Fine Arts Committees, involved in booking cultural programs for the campus communities and the general public.
• As a student, I was editor of the campus newspaper four semesters and a founding member of dramatic reading and poetry clubs that presented formal and informal readings of published as well as original student works. Examples of established works produced are Don Juan in Hell (G.B. Shaw), Under Milkwood (Dylan Thomas), A Stone, A Leaf, and a Door (Thomas Wolfe), and A Poet in New York (Garcia Lorca).

Employment Other Than Teaching

• 1980-87: Executive Director, Maritime Humanities Center of the San Francisco Bay Region
• 1979: Consultant to Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Festival of the Sea, 1979
• 1976-77: Director, Humanities of the Sea Lecture Series, San Francisco Bay Area
• 1973: Consultant, San Francisco Maritime State Park, "Nautical Exposition"
• 1966-67: Editor/Writer, Clinton Job Corps, Iowa
• 1965-66: Proofreader, The Daily Iowan, Iowa City
• 1964: Publications Manager, in-charge of Media, Goodwill Industries, Santa Clara County, CA
• 1963-64: Engineering Writer, Lenkurt Electric, CA
• 1962: Stringer in Mexico for New York Post (Pete Hamill was my contact)
• 1961: Desk Editor, Daily Good Neighbor, Mexico D.F.
• 1959-60: Copy Editor/Reporter, Mexico City News
• 1955-57: Technical Writer, Precision Industrial Design, Newark, New Jersey

Honors, Fellowships

• 1961: Listed in Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges
• 1961-62: One year writing fellowship, El centro mexicano de escritores, Mexico City
• 1960: Honorable Mention in national one-act play competition, Waldo Bellow Memorial Arts
• 1959-61: Journalism scholarship four semesters

Lecturer

• Language of the Sea; Labor at Sea: California's Bridge to the World; Immigrant Ships: The Pacific Experience

Publications

2 books, 25 magazine articles, 1 short story.

• Ocean of Bitter Dreams: The Chinese Migration to the United States, 1850-1915, Long River Press (San Francisco, 2015). A reissue in soft cover.
• "The Old Man and His Aborted Mission to Japan," The Journal of America's Military Past (Fall 2010, Vol. XXXV, Nos.3 and 114).
• The Suspect Class (a novel as yet unpublished).
• "Beyond the Bowne Rebellion," (working title) current project as a sequel to Ocean of Bitter Dreams.
• "Bridging the Cultural Expanse in English 1B: A Challenge for the Nineties," inside english (March, 1993).
• "Three Books of the Sea: A Critique," California History (Spring, 1991).
• "Masters of Their Material Culture: The Traditions of Nautical Arts and Crafts" San Francisco Craft/Folk Art Museum Catalogue (San Francisco: 1989).
• "Maritime Heritage: A Critique," California History (Winter, 1989).
• Ocean of Bitter Dreams: Maritime Relations Between China and the United States, 1850-1915 (Westernlore Press, Phoenix: l988).
• "Preface" to The Indian's Book by Natalie Curtis, a reprint issued by Bonanza Books (l987); reissued by Gramercy Books (1994).
• International Port of Call: An Illustrated Maritime History of the Golden Gate (Windsor Publications, Woodland Hills: 1984). My text is 40,000 words.
• "Investigating Chinese Immigrants and Sailors," The Chinese American Experience: Papers from the Second National Conference on Chinese American Studies (San Francisco: 1984).
• "The Fearful Summer of '88: Shipwreck and Exclusion," Ports in the West, A Publication of Journal of the West (Manhattan, Kansas: 1982).
• "Introduction" to Ships of China by Valentin Sokoloff (San Bruno, 1982).
• "Testimonial to Ah Lung: Symbol of Our Maritime Heritage," Bulletin of the Chinese Historical Society of America, Vol. XVI, Nos. 2 & 3 (February, 1981).
• "Coolie Trade: The American Connection," Oceans (January, 1980).
• "Thirty-Five Million Voyagers: The Atlantic Migration," Oceans (July, 1979).
• "Wilderness Commodore: A Critique," The American West (March, 1979).
• "Chinese Sailors: America's Invisible Merchant Marine," California History (Spring, 1978).
• "Bibles and Opium: Early China Trade," Oceans (May, 1978).
• "Flights of Spirit Before the Mast," The American West (May, 1977).
• "The Temperate Mutiny," The American West (May, 1975).
• "The Language of the Sea: Relationships Between the Language of Herman Melville and Sea Shanties of the 19th Century," Southern Folklore Quarterly (March, 1973).
• "Renaissance" a short story, Rock River Anthology (Fall, 1970).
• My article, "Coolie Trade: The American Connection," was translated into Chinese and published in Essays on Overseas Chinese History, Vol. 3 (Jinan University, China, 1983); the articles, "Thirty-Five Million Voyagers" and "Bibles and Opium" were reprinted in Sirs (Social Issues Resources Series), national study guides; the article "The Temperate Mutiny," was reprinted in Sea Letter (Spring, 1987), publication of the National Maritime Museum Association, and the essay, "Masters of Their Material Culture" was reprinted in Humanities Network (Fall, 1989), publication of the California Council for the Humanities.

Conference Papers

• "Gold and Emancipation: Twin Catalysts for the Coolie Trade," Conference on Discovery and Change: The California Gold Rush: 1848-1868, Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, 1983.
• "Chinese Sailors and Immigrant Ships," Maritime History Conference, Passage to the Promised Land: The Role of Shipping in Pacific Coast Development, San Jose State University, 1980.
• "Investigating Sailors and Immigrant Ships: The State of the Art," National Conference on Chinese Studies, Chinese Culture Center, San Francisco, 1980.
• "The Language of the Sea," California Folklore Society Conference, 1973.

Summary of Various Activities

• Maritime Humanities Center of the San Francisco Bay Region, 1980-87: Executive Director. Eight years directing the Maritime Humanities Center. Its mission was to share with the people of the Bay Region their multiple heritage of the sea and to stimulate maritime studies of the West. I am founder, having written a proposal to the National Endowment for the Humanities in 1980. The Center was awarded a two-year special program grant of $158,000, and in 1982 we were refunded for two more years. During its eight years in existence, I was able to raise over a half a million dollars for programs. The Center was sponsored by the Fort Mason Foundation in cooperation with the Golden Gate National Recreation Area from 1980 to 1985; the Center was then reconstituted as an independent non-profit corporation. I designed the following activities to achieve Center goals: public forums that attracted from seventy-five to 200 people each; seminars; sea festivals in San Francisco and at the Port of Oakland, alternately funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts, with concerts of sea music, panel discussions, lectures, demonstrations of the sailor arts and crafts, the reading of sea poetry and prose, children's programming, exhibits, tours, and plays, attracting from 15,000 to 20,000 people during two to three day events; a newsletter; maintenance of a tape library of all Center activities; production of a long-playing record from festival highlights; and a two-day conference on the Gold Rush, funded by the California Council for the Humanities, that attracted over 400 registrants. I lectured throughout the years in various presentations. Center archives will be preserved at the Southern Folklife Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
• Chinese Culture Foundation: Consultant, 1979-1980. I participated in the exhibition titled, "Chinese in America," sponsored by the Foundation and funded by NEH. The exhibition went on a national tour of major cities in the United States. I wrote the text and supplied photographs for display panels dealing with Chinese sailors who served the American merchant marine.
• Golden Gate National Recreation Area: Consultant, 1979. I was consultant to the Sea Festival, 1979. I designed programs about the history, folklore, and literature of the sea, comprised of lectures, panel discussions, and workshops. I also lectured throughout the event.
• Oceanic Society: Project Director, 1976-77. I designed and wrote the proposal for the Humanities of the Sea Lecture Series that was held in the San Francisco Bay Area. Funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the series was sponsored by the San Francisco Bay Chapter of the Oceanic Society. It was open to the public and held in such places as Zellerbach Auditorium at UCB. I also lectured in the series, and attendance at the presentations exceeded 3,000 people overall.
• California State Parks and Recreation: Consultant, 1973. I was consultant to the "San Francisco Waterfront Fair and Nautical Exposition" held at the San Francisco Maritime State Historic Park (currently the National Maritime Museum). I lectured on maritime history, folklore, and literature, supplied dramatic skits about historical events: arrival of the Flying Cloud to San Francisco; the mutiny on board the White Swallow; Bernard Gilboy's single-handed transpacific crossing; R.H. Dana's second visit to San Francisco; Jack London during publication of A Son of the Sun.
• Clinton Job Corps Center, Iowa: Editor/Writer, 1966-67. I was Editor/Writer for instructional materials that were used in medical laboratory technician courses.
• Daily Iowan, Iowa City, Iowa: Proofreader, 1965-66. I was proofreader on the daily newspaper five nights each week.
• Lenkurt Electric, California: Engineering Writer, 1964. As an Engineering Writer, I wrote instructional, maintenance, and promotional materials for telephone communications systems.
• Goodwill Industries of Santa Clara County, California: Publications Manager, 1963-64. Publications Manager, in-charge of Media Relations I managed all publications in-house and for the public, as well as news releases to the print and electronic media.
• Precision Industrial Design, Newark, New Jersey: Technical Writer, 1955-57. I wrote installation and maintenance manuals for telephone communications.
• United States Army Signal Corps, 1952-1954. At the end of two years active duty entered inactive reserves. Was awarded an Honorable Discharge.

  Lectures

  In addition to giving talks at receptions for my two books, the various lectures I have given over the years are the following: The Language of the Sea; Labor at Sea: California's Bridge to the World; Immigrant Ships: The Pacific Experience; Harshness of the Styx, Wreck of the Pequod: Decline of the American Whale Fishery; and many others about the history, folklore, and literature of the sea. My Language of the Sea lecture includes readings from Richard Henry Dana, Herman Melville, Jack London, Samuel Morison, showing slides depicting various work activities on board sailing vessels, and the singing of sea shanties with audience participation. The presentations have been given at many institutions throughout California, among them are: University of Southern California, Monterey Peninsula College, Solano Community College, Sonoma State College, Santa Rosa Junior College, San Joaquin Delta Community College, Monterey Institute of Foreign Studies, American River College, Stinson Beach Allied Arts, the Oakland Museum, the California Maritime Academy at Vallejo, at public libraries around the Bay Area, and over radio, KTAO, KPFA, KQED. Presentations were also given for the American Issues Forum of San Francisco, 1975-76; the Melville Society, 1975; Governor Brown's "Celebrate the Whale Day" in Sacramento, 1976; Eugene, Oregon's "Whale Festival" held at the University of Oregon, 1977; and for the California Historical Society Bay Cruises, 1977-79. I also lectured on the history of American whaling to various conservation groups in the San Francisco Bay Area.

  Community Service

  Five years as a Member of the Board of Trustees, Chinese Historical Society of America.

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  (28 November 2015)