"It was as an active—arguably, as the most active—component of the emergent money economy that the East Indiamen played their most productive role.". From our Autumn 2004 issue, read Mary Poovey's "The Limits of the Universal Knowledge Project":

Autumn 2025 issue coming soon!

"The invitation to a kiss can also be an insult, as in the gesture of thumbing one’s nose, which means kiss my ass.". From our Spring 2005 issue, read J. Hillis Miller's "What Is a Kiss?":

"Williams’s core conceptual contribution lies in reconceiving the tax code not as a neutral fiscal instrument but as a racializing apparatus.". New in review, Zheng Wang on Robert B. Williams's Funding White Supremacy, from @CambridgeUP:

"For Freud, melancholy makes sense as the failure of mourning, as the failure of the process by which a lost object is let go.". From our Winter 2014 issue, read Michael P. Steinberg's "Music and Melancholy":

"Through close readings of Emily Brontë, George Eliot, and others, the book challenges its readers to immerse themselves in the 'fossil-fueled lifeworld' of the nineteenth century.".Karen Pinkus on Nathan Hensley's Action without Hope, from @UChicagoPress:

RT @CriticalInquiry: "He illuminates our understanding of books, libraries, and learning in early modernity . whilst also directing 'a….

RT @CriticalInquiry: CI remembers Raymond Saunders (1934-2025).

"In a comment that describes the antagonistic dynamics in the school, one teacher in the show reflects, 'no one wins. One side just loses more slowly.'". From our Autumn 2011 issue, read Anmol Chaddha and William Julius Wilson's "'Way Down in the Hole'":

CI remembers Raymond Saunders (1934-2025).

"Nobody saw more cinematographic rhythms than Panofsky. the only thing he objected to on his first trip to New York in 1931 was that 'the cinemas are extremely lousy.'" . From our Spring 2003 issue, read Horst Bredekamp's "A Neglected Tradition?":

"He illuminates our understanding of books, libraries, and learning in early modernity . whilst also directing 'a critical gaze at our own day-to-day practice of scholarly work.'". New in review, Andreas Tranvik on Andrew Hui's The Study:

"The film thus constitutes itself musically as a tragic history of modern feminine desire. Along the way, it reconfigures the interrelations of music, desire, and the film image.". From our Autumn 2002 issue, read Lawrence Kramer's "Recognizing Schubert":

RT @CriticalInquiry: "To say that translation is not original writing may be stating the obvious, but considering this statement in terms o….

RT @CriticalInquiry: "Repair the World explores the intricacies of six existential challenges . that literature seeks to address, with….

"To say that translation is not original writing may be stating the obvious, but considering this statement in terms of linguistic relativity has far-reaching implications.". From our new issue, read Eugenia Kelbert's "Translation as Different":

"Repair the World explores the intricacies of six existential challenges . that literature seeks to address, with writing and reading functioning as therapeutic tools.". Bogdan Vişan and Ioana Danielescu on Alexandre Gefen's Repair the World:

RT @CriticalInquiry: "Yusoff’s deft—and distinctive—notational system peppers her arguments throughout and buttresses her commitment to for….

"It makes more solid sense to view Chinese experience in art and tech not as an outlier siloed in its black box but rather as a lifeworld that has spiraling relevance for everyone.". From our new issue, read Margaret Hillenbrand's "Portals to the Soul":

"Yusoff’s deft—and distinctive—notational system peppers her arguments throughout and buttresses her commitment to forging new modes of thinking about matter.". New in review, Eyad Houssami on Kathryn Yusoff's Geologic Life, from @DukePress: