Top 10 of 2013

We're proud to present the 10 most popular articles The New Inquiry published this year.

"Most popular" not to be mistaken for best.

1. Book of Lamentations by Sam Kriss
A new dystopian novel in the classic mode takes the form of a dictionary of madness

2. Further Materials Toward a Theory of the Manchild by Moira Weigel and Mal Ahern
Left theory’s response to the feminization of labor has been to cry for mommy

3. On Quitting by Keguro Macharia
We are trained to hang in, hang on, hang together. This, after all, is the lesson of graduate training. “It will get better,” we assure students who struggle to learn. We are so definite. Were we more honest, we would say, “it might get better,” “perhaps,” “maybe,” or, simply, “we don’t know."

4. Can the White Girl Twerk? by Ayesha Siddiqi
The presumed generic whiteness of the mainstream U.S. audience means that white consumers decide not only what blackness is, but also what they want out of it

5. Steal this Article by Charles Davis
If a rich person has something you need, you should take it

6. Devils in Red Dress by Moira Weigel
Though males vastly outnumber females in China, shengnü—“leftover women”—haunt the country’s imagination

7. A History of Like by Robert W. Gehl
The marketing field has long been obsessed with likability, but Facebook may be inadvertently revealing how shallow our liking goes

8. Don't Be a Stranger by Adrian Chen
Social media keep old friends close, but the Web used to be for strangers

9. The Disconnectionists by Nathan Jurgenson
“Unplugging” from the Internet isn’t about restoring the self so much as it about stifling the desire for autonomy that technology can inspire

10. Kenya's Three Tribes by Shailja Patel
There are only three tribes in Kenya. The haves. The wanna-haves. The have-them-removed.

double-bonus

Top 5 Blog Posts:

1. "The MOOC Moment and the End of Reform" by Aaron Bady

2. A Contribution to the Critique of John Mayer by Evan Calder Williams

3. "What 36 Looks Like" by Autumn Whitefield-Madrano

4. "Google's Macchia" by Teju Cole

5. "The Island" by Teju Cole

Top 5 Features:

1. Is Taylor Swift a Feminist? by Sarah Nicole Prickett

2. Special Supplement: Spring Break Forever by TNI

3. "The Witch of the Woodlands" by Public Domain Review

4. The Birth of Motherhood, Irene Lusztig interviewed by Maya Gonzalez

5. TNI Magazine Vol. 21, "Witches" Editor's Note