U. professor earns award for 1st book on immigration, US visa lottery

In November, Carly Goodman, an assistant professor in the Department of History at Rutgers—Camden, won the Edgar S. Furniss Book Award for her book, "Dreamland: America's Immigration Lottery in an Age of Restriction," according to a press release. 

The Edgar S. Furniss Book Award honors the founding director of The Ohio State University's Mershon Center for International Security Studies. The award is given to an author's first published book in English that significantly advances security studies on national and global scales.

Goodman spoke with The Daily Targum about her writing process and other socio-historical trends in the context of current events.

"It felt great to know I would be able to share the good news with all the mentors and colleagues who have supported my work for all these years," she said.

Goodman said that her book discusses the U.S. Diversity Visa Lottery, a program that permits immigrants from nations with a low immigration rate to the U.S. The lottery reserves 55,000 visas for applicants from select nations and regions, with each nation occupying no more than 7 percent of the allocated slots, according to a guide from the U.S. Department of State.

Furthermore, Goodman also said that the program attracts skillful, diligent people. She said the lottery, which eases the immigration process, has become an exception to existing policy, which tends to limit immigration.

Additionally, Goodman said that she came up with the idea for the book during a trip to Ghana — where she would later return for research — when she noticed people around her searching up the lottery online. She said that she was curious about how people have been affected by socioeconomic and political shifts on an international level since the lottery's debut in 1990.

"I was already interested in immigration history and U.S. foreign relations, and this lottery program seemed like a unique way to understand the intersection of those fields," she said.

She said that three of her past experiences shaped her approach to writing her book. She said that during her time as an editor at TIME Magazine and The Washington Post's "Made by History," she collaborated with writers to make their work more accessible to wider audiences. 

She also pursued an academic approach from her experience as a visiting professor at La Salle University and would use students' guidance to assist her research. Lastly, she worked at the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker social advocacy group, and became aware of changes in federal immigration policy.

"I think my work is distinct in its contemporary focus on post-1965 immigration … and in its international approach, recognizing that we need to look beyond U.S. borders to understand immigration," she said.

When asked about the award's relationship with her status as a public historian, Goodman said she hopes that awards like the Edgar S. Furniss Book Award will raise awareness of the work done in public institutions and academic spheres around the country.

Regarding her academic and research pursuits, Goodman said she is writing a second book about the recent shift away from pro-immigration policy and the politicization of mass deportation. She also said that her long-term goal as a professor is to help students achieve their goals.

In addition, Goodman said she encourages students to enroll in history courses because they can equip students with critical skills like research, writing and making connections between history and contemporary life.

"But beyond this, it's a gift to be able to spend time thinking in community with others about the world and how it came to be," she said. "We can also learn to recognize the non-inevitability of the past and to see our own power to shape futures yet unwritten."