Every now and then I look at Google Analytics to see what posts people typically view. And there is an interesting trend. The most popular posts tend to reflect on the meaning of International and Global Studies in some respect. For example, in November the single most popular blog post (out of approximately 490) considered the contested meanings of globalization and globalism. The sixth most popular post was ‘What is International and Global Studies?” Also in the top ten was a blog post titled International Studies versus Global Studies.
Another post that is always in the top ten -over several years- is my book review of Chakrabarty’s Provincializing Europe. If I had to guess years ago which posts would be popular in the future, my last choice would have been a book review of a challenging theory text, which is probably best suited to a graduate-level class. Sometimes I will spend a great deal of time on a post or a book review, and only a handful of people ever see it. And then a book review like this will remain popular for years.
I sometimes wonder if I should stop doing book reviews. In an era with GoodReads is there any point? And yet book reviews –such as my discussion of Eden Robinson’s Monkey Beach- are always among the top read posts in the blog. So I will try to do one book review a month this year. I want to thank everyone who has visited and used this blog over the nearly ten years that I’ve been writing it. And please also check out my new(ish) podcast, Dispatch 7: Global trends on all seven continents.
Shawn Smallman