Stephen Curley

Learn more about Stephen Curley

Get To Know Stephen Curley

What in your life drew you to your current field of study?

I've always found reading (and thinking about what I read) a pleasurable activity.

What do you hope your students gain from studying or working with you?

I hope they gain the confidence to develop themselves independently.

What are you passionate about in your personal life?

People and ideas.

Education

Ph.D. English, Rice University, 1974
B.A. English, Fordham University, 1968

Courses Taught

Literature of the Sea
Introduction to Film Analysis
Shakespeare, Composition
Technical Writing
Joseph Conrad
Science Fiction

Publications

Curley, Stephen, The Ship that Would Not Die: USS Queens, SS Excambion, USTS Texas Clipper. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2011.

Curley, Stephen, Aggies by the Sea: Texas A&M University at Galveston. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2005.

Willett, Donald, and Stephen Curley, eds. Invisible Texans: Women and Minorities in Texas History. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004.

Wetta, Frank, and Stephen Curley, Celluloid Wars: A Guide to Film and the American Experience of War. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1992.

Curley Stephen, ed., Living on the Edge: Collected Essays on Coastal Texas. Galveston: Texas A&M University at Galveston & Texas Committee for the Humanities, 1989.

Presentations

March 7, 2015: “Book Discussion on The Ship That Would Not Die.” the C-SPAN cable-network TV series Book TV. Spoke (9 min. segment), as the author of a book on USTS Texas Clipper, training ship of the Texas Maritime Academy. The program first aired nationally on C-SPAN2.

March 7, 2015: “Book Discussion on Celluloid Wars: A Guide to Film and the American Experience of War.” the C-SPAN cable-network TV series Book TV. Spoke (9-min. segment), as the author of a book on American War movies, about the relationship between actual wars and feature-length war movies. The program first aired nationally on C-SPAN2.

August 23, 2014: Appeared as an expert about pirate lore in the television program “10 Things You Don’t Know About Texas.” Spoke (5 min. segment) with 10 Things series host Henry Rollins about Galveston’s pirate Jean Lafitte. The program first aired nationally on History Channel H2.

August 17, 2007: Appeared in, was interviewed, and worked as a consultant for a television program about the of Texas Clipper I on the episode “Sinking a Ship,” Mega Movers series, originally broadcast on the History Channel.

September 4, 1998: Interviewed on KAMU-FM Public Radio, College Station, Texas: 30-minute radio program on sea stories.

March 16, 1998: Interviewed, played guitar, and sang songs on KPLX-FM Country and KLIF-AM radio stations, Dallas, Texas: 30-minute radio program on sea chanteys.

June 9 and June 16, 1997: Featured on 4-minute spot, Houston (CBS network) TV evening news. Teaching of chanteys on board Texas Clipper II broadcast by KHOU-TV, Houston, TX.

Grants and Fellowships

2006: Awarded $15,221 by Texas Parks and Wildlife to research and write a monograph on the history of the ship known as USS Queens/SS Excambion/USTS Texas Clipper. Project director: S. Curley.

2005: Awarded $7,500 by the Summerlee Foundation to run a public lecture series on Texas music culture. Project director: S. Curley; Assistant: D. Willett.

2004: Awarded $6,719: $2,825 by Humanities Texas (HT), $500 by the Friends of the Rosenberg Library, and $3,394 in-kind by TAMUG, Rosenberg Library, and Galveston Historical Foundation to run a public lecture series on the Texas in the 1950s. Project director: S. Curley; Assistant: D. Willett.

2003: Awarded $8,035: $5,785 by the Texas Council for the Humanities (TCH), $500 by the Friends of the Rosenberg Library, and $1750 by the Trube Foundation to run a public lecture series on the Texas Revolution. Project director: S. Curley; Assistant: D. Willett.

2002: Awarded $6,350: $5,350 by TCH, $500 by the Friends of the Rosenberg Library, and $500 by the Galveston Historical Foundation to run a public lecture series on Texas and Sports: a Way of Life. Project director: S. Curley; Assistant: D. Willett.

2000: Awarded $3,485: $2,385 by the Kempner Fund, $500 by the Friends of the Rosenberg Library, and $600 by the TAMUG to run a public lecture series on Texans on the Potomac. Project director: S. Curley; Assistant: D. Willett.

1999: Awarded $7,578: $5,928 by TCH, $1,150 by the Kempner Fund, $500 by the Friends of the Rosenberg Library, and $500 by the Galveston Historical Foundation to run a public lecture series on Texas and the Wild, Wild West. Project director: S. Curley; Assistant: D. Willett.

1998: Awarded $6,874: $5,000 by TCH, $1,374 by the Kempner Fund, $500 by the Friends of the Rosenberg Library, and $500 by the Galveston Historical Foundation to run a public lecture series on Texas during the Republic. Project director: S. Curley; Assistant: D. Willett.

1997: Awarded $6,575: $5,000 by TCH, $1,075 by the Kempner Fund, $500 by the Friends of the Rosenberg Library, and $500 by the Galveston Historical Foundation to run a public lecture series on Texas & WWII. Project director: S. Curley; Assistant: D. Willett.

1996: Awarded $1,900: $1,500 summer stipend, $400 travel, plus free room & board by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to study America and the Sea at Mystic Seaport.

1996: Awarded $10,517: $5,300 by TCH, $2,717 by the Kempner Fund, $1,000 by the Friends of the Rosenberg Library, $1,000 by the Texas Institute of Oceanography, and $500 by the Galveston Historical Foundation to run a public lecture series on the Galveston Odyssey. Project director: S. Curley; Assistant: D. Willett.

1995: Awarded $9,361: $5,745 by TCH, $2,616 by the Kempner Fund, and $1,000 by the Friends of the Rosenberg Library to run a public lecture series on the Making of Modern Texas. Project director: S. Curley; Assistant: D. Willett.

1994: Awarded $8,826: $5,418 by TCH, $2,408 by the Kempner Fund, and $1,000 by the Friends of the Rosenberg Library to run a public lecture series on Texans Who Made a Difference. Project director: S. Curley; Assistant: D. Willett.

1993: Awarded $7,340: $5,340 by TCH and $2,000 by the Kempner Fund to run a public lecture series ­on Texas in the Great Depression. Project director: S. Curley; Assistant: D. Willett.

1992: Awarded $5,851: $3,351 by TCH and $2,500 by the Kempner Fund to run a public lecture series on Texas and the Civil War. Project director: S. Curley; Assistant: D. Willett.

1991: Awarded $10,788 by the Commission on the Bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution to run “town meetings” on amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Coordinated joint efforts of TAMUG and Galveston College. Project director: S. Curley; Assistant: John Carhart.

1991: Awarded $8,969: $2,000 by the Wortham Fund, $2,646 by the Kempner Fund, and $4,323 by TCH to run a public lecture series on popular culture in Texas. Project director: S. Curley; Assistant: D. Willett.

1990: Awarded $11,000: $6,900 by TCH, $2,100 by the Kempner Fund, and $2,100 by the Wortham Fund to organize and run a public lecture series and create a photographic exhibit on the humanities and the Texas coast. Project director: S. Curley.

1988: Awarded $10,000: $8,000 by TCH, $2,000 by the Kempner Fund to organize and manage a study group of humanities scholars looking at how the humanities can help us prepare for life along the Texas coast in the 21st century; and to publish an anthology of essays on the topic. Project director: S. Curley.

1988: Awarded $183,000 in kind (computer equipment and software) by AT&T Corporation for scientific research and technical writing. Project director: W. Seitz; Assistant director: S. Curley.

1975: Awarded $2,000, a summer stipend of $2,000 by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to study the interrelationship of visual and literary arts at Columbia University.

Awards & Recognition

Named Regents Professor, first person at Texas A&M University at Galveston (TAMUG) to be so named, by the Texas A&M University System. The highest award given by the System (includes nine universities).

Won three times the highest teaching excellence awards (based on student ratings) given by Texas A&M University System.

Won the highest teaching award, University-level Distinguished Achievement Award for Teaching, given by Texas A&M University (TAMU) at College Station. The first TAMUG faculty member to have won this award.

Won the highest teaching award given by TAMUG.

Won the highest faculty award given by TAMUG: the Distinguished Faculty Award. The only faculty member to have won this award twice.