History in the Headlines: Rutgers–Camden Graduate Student Makes Publishing Debut in The Philadelphia Inquirer
Tom DiGiovanni, an aspiring American historian and student in the graduate history program at Rutgers–Camden, recently published his first article—not in an academic journal, but in one of the nation’s oldest newspapers.
The master’s candidate penned a piece for Made by History, a partnership with The Philadelphia Inquirer in which scholars contribute essays on topics from politics to sports, offering historical context to many of today’s headlines and making the past more accessible to readers. The Philadelphia Inquirer, which launched in 1829, boasts an audience base of more than 100,000 digital subscribers.
DiGiovanni's article on how surfing came to the Jersey Shore was an excerpt from a longer research paper written under the guidance of Carly Goodman, assistant professor of history, who also serves as senior editor of Made by History. Seeking to publish more stories with local ties, Goodman asked DiGiovanni to contribute an article drawing on his research into the history, race, and class dynamics of New Jersey's surfing scene.
"It's surreal. It's something I've wanted to do for a long time," DiGiovanni said. "I'm very grateful to Dr. Goodman for giving me this opportunity to write this piece."
His personal interests have shaped an original research agenda. DiGiovanni often surfed the waters of his native Maine; there, he saw firsthand the class divisions affecting the coastal space. He began researching surf history during his undergraduate years and expanded that scholarship while in the public history track at Rutgers–Camden.
"My research definitely focuses on how race, racial issues, and class issues can be observed through the sporting lens," he said.
In tracing New Jersey’s history with surfing, DiGiovanni noted the sport has slowly gained a positive image and following while potentially leaving others on the margins. He is also exploring this thread with a research opportunity.
He serves as a research assistant for Truth and Repair, a statewide collaboration among history scholars at Rutgers–Camden, Princeton, and St. Peter’s Universities. Their mission is to document the impact of structural racism and advance efforts to repair the health and well-being of New Jersey’s marginalized communities.
As part of the Rutgers–Camden contingent, DiGiovanni, who works with Kendra Boyd, associate professor of history, and Jesse Bayker, assistant teaching professor of history and associate director of the Digital Studies Center, has centered his work in Cape May County. There, he is digitizing items from the John T. and Janet D. Nash Archives of African American History at the Center for the Community Arts in Cape May; among the artifacts at the center are images of segregated beaches in the seaside resort town.
“There's one beach on Grant Street that was a segregated beach for African Americans. We have a lot of pictures from that area,” he said. “But it goes hand in hand with the research I do for my surfing history, so it felt very fitting when I was asked to join this project,” he added. The scholars ultimately hope to turn their digitized scans into a publicly accessible database.
He is also working with Lorrin Thomas, associate professor of history, on a traveling exhibit marking the 50th anniversary of the “Bicentennial Without Colonies” event, also known as “Sin Colonias,” when an estimated 40,000 people marched for social and economic justice in Philadelphia.
DiGiovanni, who sees himself working in curation and exhibit research and one day hopes to earn a Ph.D., remains as fascinated by his future craft as he was when he began studying it—perhaps even more so.
"I think there's so much essential knowledge, through either politics or cultural phenomena, that you can understand from being a historian," he said. "The narratives that you find in history are really compelling to me. I think the best thing about history is learning about the past so I can harness that knowledge today in the present."
