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Academic criticism for the curious reader. Reviews of new books and arguments across the humanities and social sciences.

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Public Books

“Melodrama with a Modern Sensibility”: A Conversation with Megan Cummins

How do the families and friends of those struggling with addiction perceive that addiction, cope with it, and try (or fail) to love that person anyway? The post “Melodrama with a Modern Sensibility”: A Conversation with Megan Cummins appeared first on Public Books.

Megan CumminsAug 4, 2026

Public Books

B-Sides: “Somebody Is Walking on Your Grave: My Cemetery Journeys” by Mariana Enriquez

“I spent my adolescence in Buenos Aires and made my own fumbling pilgrimages to that city’s cemeteries.” The post B-Sides: “Somebody Is Walking on Your Grave: My Cemetery Journeys” by Mariana Enriquez appeared first on Public Books.

Imani RadneyAug 3, 2026

Public Books

On Our Nightstands: July 2026

At Public Books, our editorial staff and contributors are hard at work to provide readers with thought-provoking articles. But when the workday is done, what is actually on our nightstands? Here we bring you, in our own words, a behind-the-scenes look at what we have been reading this month. Nicholas Dames Editor in Chief Frederic […] The post On Our Nightstands: July 2026 appeared first on Public Books.

Imani RadneyJul 30, 2026

Public Books

The Wonderful Capacities of Other Animals

“As dogs, cats, horses, and probably all the higher animals, even birds have vivid dreams, we must admit that they possess some power of imagination.” —Charles Darwin, Descent of Man Darwin’s evolutionary theory did more than establish a corporeal commonality between species; it also raised hard questions about commonalities of consciousness. David Peña-Guzmán, cohost of […] The post The Wonderful Capacities of Other Animals appeared first on Public Books.

Megan CumminsJul 29, 2026

Public Books

What Keeps the Dutch Up at Night?

Although the novels’ protagonists are fascinating, even magnetic characters, they are eerie—all the more so because their unsettling behavior forces the reader to confront what most worries the Netherlands. The post What Keeps the Dutch Up at Night? appeared first on Public Books.

Megan CumminsJul 28, 2026

Public Books

Toward the Next Century of Carmen Martín Gaite

A literary genius who remained in Fascist Franco Spain, she created new, hybrid literary genres, even while fluidly moving from fiction to nonfiction and back. The post Toward the Next Century of Carmen Martín Gaite appeared first on Public Books.

Megan CumminsJul 23, 2026

Public Books

You Have Nothing to Lose But Your Supply Chains!

“Logistics,” warns Susan Zieger, “reveals how the illicit economy is the legitimate economy: the nature of free trade prevents the two from ever being separated.” The post You Have Nothing to Lose But Your Supply Chains! appeared first on Public Books.

Imani RadneyJul 22, 2026

Public Books

“As Good As It Gets”: Talking Liberalism with Kevin Schultz

“Up until Franklin Delano Roosevelt, very few Americans actually called themselves liberals or embraced anything that was called ‘liberalism.’” The post “As Good As It Gets”: Talking Liberalism with Kevin Schultz appeared first on Public Books.

Imani RadneyJul 21, 2026

Public Books

The Pain Is the Point: On the Violent Realities of Capitalist Sport

In 2022, critical sports scholar Chen Chen uncovered a staggering statistic: The three leading academic journals in sports management (Journal of Sport Management, Sport Management Review, and European Sport Management Quarterly), with over 74 years of combined history between them, had published a grand total of 14 articles that mentioned the word “capitalism” more than […] The post The Pain Is the Point: On the Violent Realities of Capitalist Sport appeared first on Public Books.

Imani RadneyJul 17, 2026

Public Books

The Ableism of Kings, the Fury of Trump

I usually flinch from swashbuckling claims, but let me make this one at least: No hero from ancient myth feels as human as Odysseus. No one as relatable in their indomitable will to survive. Is it any wonder, then, that the Odyssey is having a moment, as humans seem barely to be surviving at all? […] The post The Ableism of Kings, the Fury of Trump appeared first on Public Books.

Megan CumminsJul 16, 2026

Public Books

“Heated Rivalry” Is the “Moby-Dick” of Canadian Gay Hockey Shows

The literary genre of contemporary MM romance realizes an imagined world that Melville was trying to write into being. The post “Heated Rivalry” Is the “Moby-Dick” of Canadian Gay Hockey Shows appeared first on Public Books.

Imani RadneyJul 15, 2026

Public Books

“Is Kahane Becoming Normalized?”: Shaul Magid on Meir Kahane’s Zionist Radicalism

“For Kahane, the greatest enemy of the Jews … was not the Arabs. The greatest enemy of the Jews was liberalism.” The post “Is Kahane Becoming Normalized?”: Shaul Magid on Meir Kahane’s Zionist Radicalism appeared first on Public Books.

Morgan BarryJul 14, 2026

Public Books

A Tale of Two Families: Birthright Citizenship and Family Reunification for Chinese Migrants in 1925

“As the families in Cheung Sum Shee v. Nagle and Chang Chan v. Nagle went to court to establish their right to reunite, these men and women also sought the answer to a core question that is still under debate today: Whose families belong together?” The post A Tale of Two Families: Birthright Citizenship and Family Reunification for Chinese Migrants in 1925 appeared first on Public Books.

Morgan BarryJul 10, 2026

Public Books

Documenting Birthright Citizenship under Chinese Exclusion

Following the Wong Kim Ark decision in 1898, ethnic Chinese, other Asians, and almost all individuals born on U.S. soil secured the right to jus soli birthright citizenship. They could not, however, secure recognition of their citizenship without documentation, the key that linked birth to birthright. At a time when birth registration was not common, […] The post Documenting Birthright Citizenship under Chinese Exclusion appeared first on Public Books.

Morgan BarryJul 9, 2026

Public Books

The Right to Return: Chinese Merchants, the Scott Act, and Legal Knowledge in an Era of Exclusion

“For the first time, customs officials were authorized not only to block newcomers from China but also to turn away long-resident Chinese migrants returning from abroad.” The post The Right to Return: Chinese Merchants, the Scott Act, and Legal Knowledge in an Era of Exclusion appeared first on Public Books.

Morgan BarryJul 8, 2026

Public Books

The Struggle for America’s Ballot Box and the Making of Wong Kim Ark

“While the Supreme Court settled the issue of birthright citizenship in Wong Kim Ark’s case, lawmakers, lawyers, and civil organizations in California (and elsewhere) routinely tried to strip citizenship from the children of Asian immigrants throughout the twentieth century.” The post The Struggle for America’s Ballot Box and the Making of Wong Kim Ark appeared first on Public Books.

Morgan BarryJul 7, 2026

Public Books

The Historical Paths to and from Wong Kim Ark

“The decision in Wong Kim Ark’s case marked the culmination of a three-year legal battle and reflected two decades of sustained efforts to deny citizenship to the U.S.-born children of Chinese immigrants following the Fourteenth Amendment.” The post The Historical Paths to and from Wong Kim Ark appeared first on Public Books.

Morgan BarryJul 6, 2026

Public Books

The Meaning of Alienage for Wong Kim Ark

The Fourteenth Amendment transformed American citizenship in the nineteenth century, but for Chinese immigrants and their American-born children, exclusion persisted. The post The Meaning of Alienage for Wong Kim Ark appeared first on Public Books.

Morgan BarryJul 6, 2026

Public Books

Lineages of the Engineering State: On China, the United States, and the Future

“Perhaps, when we claim that China has exhausted the conceptual resources of the West, what we really mean is that China has exhausted the conceptual resources of American journalists and defense intellectuals in the Washington, DC area.” The post Lineages of the Engineering State: On China, the United States, and the Future appeared first on Public Books.

Morgan BarryJul 2, 2026

Public Books

“We Want You to Leave Home”: Crystal Sanders on Black Southerners and “Segregation Scholarships”

“I began to realize that the state of North Carolina was paying for Black students to go north as a way of preserving segregation. These were what I call ‘segregation scholarships’ to study elsewhere.” The post “We Want You to Leave Home”: Crystal Sanders on Black Southerners and “Segregation Scholarships” appeared first on Public Books.

Imani RadneyJul 1, 2026

Public Books

“These Cycles Are Repeating Themselves”: Lara Norgaard on Indonesian History and Translating Political Fiction

“Even characters with completely benign intentions or mildly selfish intentions end up doing pretty bad things because of the institutional structures around them.” The post “These Cycles Are Repeating Themselves”: Lara Norgaard on Indonesian History and Translating Political Fiction appeared first on Public Books.

Morgan BarryJun 30, 2026

Public Books

The “Emotional Economy” of Parenting: A Conversation with Nina Bandelj

“I am an observer of how intellectual ideas travel and enter into everyday life, or how they come to be performed by families in ways that give those ideas a reality of their own.” The post The “Emotional Economy” of Parenting: A Conversation with Nina Bandelj appeared first on Public Books.

Megan CumminsJun 25, 2026

Public Books

Julián Delgado Lopera on “Pretend You’re Dead and I Carry You”

“I am inhabiting many different identities, sometimes multiple identities, constantly. I feel that I'm definitely building on a legacy of Latin American literature and Latino literature in the United States.” The post Julián Delgado Lopera on “Pretend You’re Dead and I Carry You” appeared first on Public Books.

Megan CumminsJun 24, 2026

Public Books

“Dear Syria … ”

“Here I was, crossing from Lebanon into Syria and from the realm of other peoples’ stories into that of lived experience, including my own.” The post “Dear Syria … ” appeared first on Public Books.

Imani RadneyJun 23, 2026

Public Books

Undoing Platform Humanitarianism

In 2019, the World Food Programme partnered with controversial analytics firm Palantir to develop a logistics management platform (DOTS). Although it drew criticism from privacy activists and donors, the partnership remains active today, suggesting that public and sectoral objections cannot halt such public-private collaborations, even in the humanitarian sector. This is but one example of […] The post Undoing Platform Humanitarianism appeared first on Public Books.

Imani RadneyJun 18, 2026

Public Books

Who Benefits from Distorting American Studies?

“There is a movement undermining, constraining, and eradicating those who document, understand, and name the experiences of systematically marginalized communities in US history.” The post Who Benefits from Distorting American Studies? appeared first on Public Books.

Morgan BarryJun 17, 2026

Public Books

Edward Said, My Grandfather, and the Problem of Home

“Said's ‘Reflections on Exile’ summoned to mind the only 7 words my grandfather ever said to me about Ireland, where he had cousins he never knew: ‘I don’t think I’ll go back there.’” The post Edward Said, My Grandfather, and the Problem of Home appeared first on Public Books.

Morgan BarryJun 16, 2026

Public Books

“Seize the Means of Knowledge Production”: Durba Mitra on Third World Feminists and Their Fight Against Patriarchal Authoritarianism

“I suggest that the building of women’s organizations through cross border collaboration leads to a total transformation of civil society.” The post “Seize the Means of Knowledge Production”: Durba Mitra on Third World Feminists and Their Fight Against Patriarchal Authoritarianism appeared first on Public Books.

Morgan BarryJun 15, 2026

Public Books

Resistance Disguised as a History Lesson: Fascism and the University

Her student—a former Nazi stormtrooper—was proof that no one was lost to the new regime, that every person might choose to refuse. The post Resistance Disguised as a History Lesson: Fascism and the University appeared first on Public Books.

Imani RadneyJun 12, 2026

Public Books

Who Owns Argentine Football?

In early 20th century Buenos Aires, football clubs emerged as institutions of sociability and mutual aid, but also of anarchist resistance, immigrant solidarity, and antifascist organizing. The post Who Owns Argentine Football? appeared first on Public Books.

Morgan BarryJun 11, 2026