MARCH 2022
MIT SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES, ARTS, AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
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A LIVABLE FUTURE
ANTHROPOLOGY
Expanding imagination for a livable future | Bettina Stoetzer
A conversation with MIT anthropologist Bettina Stoetzer on her forthcoming book, her environmental justice class, and her insights about "how to live otherwise."
Interview by MIT SHASS Communications
Bettina Stoetzer, Class of 1948 Career Development Assoc. Professor of Anthropology; photo by Allegra Boverman
"By providing a deeper understanding of the ways in which people relate to the material world, to land, and to other beings, anthropological analyses also shed light on the root causes of climate change and expand our imagination of how to live otherwise."
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Climate Grand Challenges finalists | Building equity into climate solutions
Faculty leaders, including Evan Lieberman, Total Professor of Political Science and Contemporary Africa, discuss developing, scaling, and implementing their work rapidly.
Story | Related: 27 CGC finalists announced
MIT's Council on the Uncertain Human Future
The Council convenes small groups for conversations on the climate crisis and its implications for how we live now. Learn more
EXPLAINER
Elizabeth Wood, Professor of History; photo by Allegra Boverman
HISTORY
MIT historian Elizabeth Wood on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
A Russia expert and author of Roots of Russia’s War in Ukraine, Professor Wood evaluates the uncertain dynamics of a global crisis, the possibility of a long siege, and Vladimir Putin's three principal miscalculations. Interview at MIT News
SECURITY STUDIES PROGRAM
Special Seminar: Understanding the War in Ukraine
Participants were Professors Elizabeth Wood, Barry Posen, Mariya Grinberg, and M. Taylor Fravel, and Dr. Carol Saivetz. Watch the video
MUSIC
Dona Nobis Pacem | Grant Us Peace
The first movement from the 1936 cantata by Ralph Vaughan Williams; performed by the MIT Concert Choir. (3 minutes) Listen
PORTAL TO ANOTHER WORLD
LITERATURE
Arthur Bahr and the 14th Century Pearl-Manuscript
Bahr is completing a new book on the Pearl-Manuscript, a rare 14th-century document that contains four works, all critical to our understanding of the medieval world. Of the work he says: "The Pearl-Manuscript as a whole serves as a useful reminder that seriousness of moral and theological purpose can coexist with vivacity, verve and fun."
Story by SHASS Communications
Why do MIT students so love medieval literature? Because it's "challenging and rewarding" — and "it's a portal to another world." Meet MIT Professor Arthur Bahr, an acclaimed teacher and trusty guide to a distant world.
NEW WORKS
MUSIC
John Harbison's "Great Gatsby" opera produced for Semper Oper Dresden
"Harbison is a master." His opera dramatizes "the subversive nature of the novel, eroding the forced Roaring ‘20s gaiety and emptiness with dark currents."
About the opera | Trailer
HISTORY
A revolution in learning | Tanalís Padilla
Padilla’s new book, Unintended Lessons of Revolution, highlights the outsized role of Mexico's rural normal schools in educating leaders and activists for social justice.
Story by Peter Dizikes, MIT News | Padilla's webpage | About the book
LITERATURE
Life-Destroying Diagrams | Eugenie Brinkema
"Replete with etymological meditations, performative typography, and lyrical digressions, Life-Destroying Diagrams is a series of experiments in the writing of aesthetic theory."
About the book | Brinkema's MIT webpage
MUSIC
Turning emotion into sound | Composer Elena Ruehr on her new work
In "Requiem," Ruehr honors both personal and global losses.
MIT composer Elena Ruehr; photo by Aynsley Floyd
Of the Mozart and Brahms requiems she admires, Ruehr says: "To me these great works of art are noble because they express the sorrow of loss but also celebrate the beauty of life."
SHAPING THE FUTURE OF WORK
ECONOMICS
MIT Economics receives Hewlett Foundation grant to study job quality
The generous grant will advance MIT's economic research on reimagining the relationships among markets, governments, and workers. Daron Acemoglu, Institute Professor, and David Autor, Ford Professor of Economics, co-lead the new Shaping the Future of Work Program.
Story
Industrial worker; photo via iStock
“Our research has helped examine the nation’s job quality crisis, which is foundational to many of the ills afflicting our society.”
STRENGTHENING DEMOCRACY
U.S. Capitol Building in early evening, Washington, D.C., iStock photograph
MIT ELECTION LAB
What do America's local election officials say about elections?
Local election officials are among the most signifiant stewards of democracy and are important voices on election reform.
Article at the MIT Election Lab
POLITICAL SCIENCE
Higher minimum wages raise voter turnout | Ariel White
Low-wage workers, who vote infrequently, gain a participation boost when their salaries increase.
Study
CENTER FOR ADVANCED VIRTUALITY + COMPARATIVE MEDIA STUDIES
Fostering media literacy in the age of deepfakes | Fox Harrell and team
A free, online course empowers students and educators to engage with media critically.
Story | Free online course
MIT SHASS
Gallery: 21st Century Democracy
Browse
MAKING A JUST SOCIETY
Women using a rice-threshing machine; village in Bankura district of west Bengal. iStock photo
A field experiment in India led by MIT antipoverty researchers has produced a striking result: A one-time boost of capital improves the condition of the very poor even a decade later.
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ABDUL LATIF JAMEEL POVERTY ACTION LAB
Boosting people out of poverty
MIT field experiment in India finds a one-time economic boost helps people living in extreme poverty fare better for at least a decade.
Story by Peter Dizikes, MIT News
POLITICAL SCIENCE | IDSS
Fotini Christia on the IDSS Research Initiative on Combatting Systemic Racism
"This type of research has ethical and societal considerations at its core...and will be coordinated with local stakeholders to drive relevant policy decisions."
Interview | Fotini Christia
ECONOMICS | BLUEPRINT LABS
A better measure of school performance | Angrist, Pathak, Hull, Walters
Blueprint Labs economists formulated a new "race balanced progress" rating that is at once uncorrelated with race, and just as predictive of school quality as conventional progress ratings.
Full Working Paper | MIT Blueprint Labs
CALL FOR ALUMNI STORIES
Our Dean’s Office communications team is always eager to learn about MIT alumni with a SHASS major or minor degree to highlight on Slice of MIT and other Insitute channels. We're also keen to learn about MIT STEM alumni whose education in the humanistic fields has had an especially significant influence. Have you taught or mentored a student with an compelling post-graduation story? Media Relations Manager Stephen Oakes (oakes@mit.edu) would like to hear from you.
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Published by SHASS Communications
Office of the Dean, MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
Editor and Designer: Emily Hiestand
Publication Associate: Alison Lanier
Published 9 March 2022