Once again, the most popular books from the Edu-Scholars are many of the same ones as previous years’. Emily Oster’s 2014 volume Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom Is Wrong—and What You Really Need to Know was the top performer on the list (as of Dec. 9, which is when we ran this metric). Carol Dweck’s Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (2007) took second place. Other popular titles included: Angela Duckworth’s Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance (2016), Howard Gardner’s Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences (2011), Gholdy Muhammad’s Unearthing Joy: A Guide to Culturally and Historically Responsive Curriculum and Instruction (2023), and John McWhorter’s The Power of Babel: A Natural History of Language (2003).
If readers want to argue the construction, reliability, or validity of any or all of these metrics, feel free. This whole endeavor is an imprecise, imperfect exercise. Of course, the same is true of college rankings, NFL quarterback ratings, or international scorecards of human rights. Yet, for all their imperfections, such efforts convey real information and help spark useful discussion. I hope these can do the same. And, finally, it should go without saying that individuals can be influential in problematic or destructive ways. This is an attempt to gauge influence, not the merits of a scholar’s contribution.
I welcome thoughts and questions and am happy to entertain any and all suggestions. So, take a look and have at it.
Tomorrow, we’ll break down the top 10 faculty in each discipline.
