Congratulations to McKenna Britton, one of our graduate students, for developing and installing her exhibit, titled “The Frosh Enter the Fray: Rutgers-Camden Freshmen of the 1950s and 1960s,” in the Paul Robeson Library.

The exhibit pulls excerpts from freshman handbooks, editions of the campus newspaper The Gleaner, and images from Rutgers-Camden yearbooks in order to introduce students to the rules and regulations that the freshmen of decades past had to abide by—and the various ways they rebelled against the upperclassmen.

Stop by the library to learn what the first few weeks of the fall semester looked like for freshmen in the mid-twentieth century, figure out what a “dink” is, and feel relieved that freshmen no longer need to collect 30 signatures from fellow classmates a day. The exhibit will be on display in the lobby of the library until October 14, 2018. 

The History Department at Rutgers-Camden extends a hearty “thank you!” to the graduate students who represented the department at the annual Rutgers Day event earlier this spring.

According to Samantha Muller, one of the students who headed the department’s participation in the event, the day brought overwhelming success for the History department. 

Muller shares that over half of the graduate student cohort was involved in the planning and/or execution of the Rutgers Day activities. The History Department participants partnered with The Arch Street Project, The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia, and two other Rutgers departments: Chemistry and Psychology. Five different public history activities were offered by the volunteers, including: Colonial Kids Games, Symbols in US History (The Liberty Bell and The Eagle), Weaving Crafts and Children at Work, Practice Your John Hancock (Fun with Historical Documents), and Gotcha the Grad Students (using the Encyclopedia to find out more about Philadelphia history)!

As was mentioned previously, this past Tuesday Rutgers University-Camden hosted the Celebration of Graduate Research and Creative Activities.

Two of our Graduate History students presented their research at the event – Sharece Blakney and Brittney Ingersoll had a very successful Tuesday afternoon, sharing their research projects with intrigued passersby. Congratulations, once again, Ms. Blakney and Mrs. Ingersoll! We are very proud of you and your work!

Images courtesy of Sharece Blakney and Brittney Ingersoll. 

On April 10th, 2018, Rutgers University-Camden will be hosting its third annual Celebration of Graduate Research and Creative Activities.

The event will take place in the Campus Center, beginning at 4:30 p.m. and lasting until 6:00 p.m. The Graduate History Department is excited to announce that our very own students Sharece Blakney and Brittney Ingersoll will be presenting their research at this event – make sure to stop by and hear all about their research successes!

Ms. Blakney offered the following sneak peek into what her research deals with: 

“Using primary sources such as slave records, deeds of emancipation, and regional periodicals, my project tracks slave purchases for intentional manumission by African-American women. My project also explores the classification of intentional slave manumission as a form of activism.”

Mrs. Ingersoll likewise offered a description of her research topic: 

“The nineteenth century saw an influx of mass printing, with an array of different types of publications available to the public. One type of publication were illegal publications of licentious print. Licentious print consisted of erotic and pornographic prints that included imagery, novels, newspapers, and brothel guides. Brothel guides were guide books of brothels and prostitutes within the city. Historians have analyzed brothel guides as another form of illicit print and have looked at brothel guides to understand prostitution in print and society’s interest in prostitution…Although previous scholarship has analyzed the brothel guides to better understand prostitution and illicit print, this paper will look at this scholarship, and brothel guides themselves to better understand brothel guides and their power as marketing tools.” 

Congratulations to both of you on your success, and good luck at the research event! 

Celebration of Graduate Research and Creative Activiti