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Shankar Raman wins 2013 Levitan Prize in the Humanities
"Shankar Raman is a renaissance man...
He has a passion for knowledge and critical inquiry
that embraces both the humanities and the sciences.
He is exploring a time when the so-called 'two cultures'
divide had not yet opened up, and he is modeling a way
to bridge that divide in our own time."
— Jim Buzard, Professor of Literature, Head of MIT Literature
$25K prize supports innovative scholarship
Deborah K. Fitzgerald, Kenan Sahin Dean of the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, has announced that Shankar Raman, Professor of Literature, has received the 2013 James A. ('45) and Ruth Levitan Prize in the Humanities. The $25,000 prize is awarded annually to support innovative and creative scholarship in the humanities. The prize will support Raman's development of his manuscript-in-progress, Before the Two Cultures: Literature and Mathematics in Early Modern Europe.
Upon hearing the news, James Buzard, Head of MIT Literature, commented "Shankar Raman—the one member of the MIT Literature Faculty who is also an MIT alum—is a Renaissance man. As his current research on literature and mathematics suggests, he has a passion for knowledge and critical inquiry that embraces both the humanities and the sciences. He is exploring a time when the so-called 'two cultures' divide had not yet opened up, and he is modeling a way to bridge that divide in our own time. He's an inspirational colleague."
Raman's interests span a range of topics in late medieval and early modern literature and culture, with especial focus on colonialism, history of ideas, and history of science. His teaching at MIT includes: science and literature, Shakespeare, Renaissance poetry and drama, literary theory, and postcolonial fiction. Raman received his PhD in English Literature (with a minor in German) from Stanford University in 1995, shifting fields after two S.B. degrees from MIT, in Electrical Engineering and Architecture, and an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from U. C. Berkeley.
MIT's first-ever documentary concert performance "Awakening: Evoking the Arab Spring through Music," will air on Boston's WGBH on Friday, May 31 at 10:30pm. The 30-minute program features the world premiere of "Awakening," a three-movement work by MIT alumnus and New York-based composer Jamshied Sharifi, first performed on March 17, 2012 by the MIT Wind Ensemble, led by Dr. Frederick E. Harris, Director of the ensemble, and Lecturer in the Music and Theater Arts Section. More
With the generous support of the Mellon Foundation, the School awards up to three fellowships each year to promising young scholars working at the intersection of humanities disciplines, or between humanities and other disciplines. We are delighted to welcome our two new Mellon Postdoctoral Fellows for 2013-2015 — Meredith Schweig and Maria Vidart-Delgado.
See Mellon Fellows | Profiles
“Graham is a talented scholar with an unquenchable passion for teaching. His deep intelligence, breadth of knowledge, and commitment to excellence are apparent in everything he does.” More
Emma Teng, T.T and Wei Fong Chao Professor of Asian Civilizations and an associate professor of China studies, relishes the unique atmosphere within MIT that fosters multidisciplinary collaboration. And through her research and teachings about Asian and Asian-American identities and histories, Teng helps her students challenge their own assumptions, an exercise that she hopes extends beyond the classroom. More
Deborah Fitzgerald, Kenan Sahin Dean of the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, has announced the appointment of eight faculty members to new leadership roles. More
SHASS has announced three recipients of the 2013 Kelly Essay Award: Alicia Singham Goodwin '14, and Michelle Dion '13 are co-winners of the Kelly Essay Prize; Caitlin Mackey '15, has received the Honorable Mention. The Kelly Essay Prize honors outstanding writing achievement by MIT undergraduates, awarding two prizes of up to $800 each. More
Writer, director and designer of plays, operas and installations, and winner of a 2012 Obie, Jay Scheib, Associate Professor of Theater Arts, was awarded a MAP Fund grant to support a production of Platonov, or the Disinherited. More
The MIT Open Documentary Lab, a program of SHASS Comparative Media Studies/Writing, has received an NEA ArtWorks grant for the development of an online, curated database of interactive documentaries. More
An important dimension of the Kelly-Douglas Fund is support for undergraduate education in the humanities, arts and social sciences; travel beyond MIT to pursue a project in an HASS field, or to collaborate in a humanitarian project, can have a powerful and lasting effect on students. More
Math major Mikhael received the $400 prize for his essay, “Lost in Translation,” which explores Mikhael’s experience growing up—first in the United States and then in Lebanon—and his return to the States to study at MIT. The Prize honors cross-cultural fluency — an ability key to leadership and success in today's global world. More
Dean Fitzgerald has announced the recipients of the 2013 James A. and Ruth Levitan Awards for Excellence in Teaching. Warmest congratulations to these seven educators and colleagues, who represent the very best academic leadership in the School. More
The SHASS Research Fund supports research in the areas of humanities, arts, and social sciences that shows promise of making an important contribution to the proposed area of activity. The School is pleased to announce the eight recipients for 2013. More
Can global brands create just supply chains, fair and safe working conditions? In his new book, The Promise and Limits of Private Power, MIT political scientist Richard Locke says that protecting workers involved in the global supply chain will require three things: actions by firms themselves; long-standing supply-chain relationships, and government effort. More
Assistant Professor of Literature Stephanie Ann Frampton has been awarded the prestigious Rome Prize for ancient studies by the American Academy in Rome. The award will provide funding for Frampton to spend 11 months living and working at the academy, a leading American overseas center for independent studies and advanced research in the fine arts and humanities. More
J-PAL Science review article, "The Challenge of Education and Learning in the Developing World," characterizes the challenges to improving learning outcomes in developing countries. This is "the first time J-PAL's cost effectiveness analysis of programs that aim to improve student learning has been released, and to the best of our knowledge, this is the first analysis of its kind," says J-PAL policy analyst Conner Brannen. More
Brill Publishing announces that MIT Professor of History Elizabeth Wood's essay "Performing Memory: Vladmir Putin and the Celebration of WWII in Russia," is among the most read Slavic journal articles of the year. More
Jordan Hall, April 28, 2013. Boston Music Intelligencer writes: "With David Deveau, the Boston Symphony Chamber Players elevated the Brahms "Trio in A Minor," Opus 114 to indescribable eloquence." More + Reviews
SHASS Associate Dean von Fintel and two noted artists present viewpoints on the relationships of form (both visual and conceptual) in a Catalyst Conversation event. A discussion will follow on the similarities and differences that may exist in the way scientists and artists approach these concepts. More
While reading online, do you sometimes find yourself skipping from politics to poetry to humor? If so, your experience is rather medieval, says Arthur Bahr, an associate professor of literature at MIT whose first book, Fragments and Assemblages: Forming Compilations of Medieval London was just released by University of Chicago Press. More
Matthiessen, a three-time National Book Award-winning American novelist, nonfiction writer and environmental activist will be at MIT receive the Thoreau Award for Literary Excellence in Nature Writing, presented by PEN New England. Thursday, April 11, 2013, MIT 10-250, 7pm. More
Conference to focus on "Nature and Technology in French History"; Thursday, April 4 – Sunday, April 7, at the Kendall Marriott on the MIT Campus; Free for SHASS faculty and graduate students More + Free Registration
Professor of philosophy and Director of Women's and Gender Studies at MIT, Sally Haslanger recently published Resisting Reality: Social Construction and Social Critique (Oxford University Press), a collection of essays on gender and race. We caught up with her to talk about the rich ideas in her most recent book. More
To your keyboards, undergraduates! This year, all forms of nonfiction prose — including personal essays, science writing, cultural commentary, research papers, memoir, travel literature, or nature writing—are eligible to win the Kelly Essay Prize. Essays may be 12-20 pages long, and are due by noon, April 16, 2013. Full information + how to enter
MIT’s School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences has named 32 undergraduate students as Burchard Scholars for 2013. The award recognizes sophomores and juniors who have demonstrated outstanding abilities and academic excellence in some aspect of the humanities, arts, and social sciences, as well as in science and engineering. More
Honored for research on strategies to alleviate poverty through disease prevention More
President Barack Obama has announced he intends to appoint MIT Professor Esther Duflo to the President’s Global Development Council. Duflo is the Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics, and a founder and director of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL). More
“There was no Armenian women’s history in Armenian or Turkish,” Ekmekcioglu says. “So, I decided to write it myself.” A faculty member in MIT’s Program in Women’s and Gender Studies, Ekmekcioglu says she has been interested in feminism since college. That was when she first researched the Turkish women’s movement and discovered that the only information available centered on the experience of Muslims, the majority population in Turkey. Non-Turks, including ethnic Armenians, Greeks, and Jews, were simply absent.
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The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics has named MIT historian David A. Mindell the winner of its Gardner-Lasser Aerospace History Literature Award for his book Digital Apollo: Human and Machine in Spaceflight. More
Ideas Matter, a joint project of Boston Review and the MIT SHASS Department of Political Science, is a lecture series that brings Boston Review writers together with other experts and practitioners for debate on the challenges of our times. Here are updates on the two most recent events, along with links to books and more information. More
MIT Philosophy Professor Emerita Judith Jarvis Thomson has been awarded the 2012 Quinn Prize from the APA in recognition of her lifetime contributions to philosophy and philosophers. An internationally renowned philosopher, Thomson is known for her thought experiments, including the famous "trolley problem," which present simple scenarios that illuminate serious moral and ethical questions. More
How the Hippies Saved Physics by David Kaiser, Germeshausen Professor of the History of Science, has been named 2012 Book of the Year by Physics World magazine. “A rollicking good read,” according to Physics World, the book describes how a group of young, unconventional physicists working in in Northern California in the 1970s changed the face of modern physics. Kaiser is the head of MIT’s Program in Science, Technology, and Society, and a senior lecturer in the Department of Physics. Full Story
Professor Craig Wilder, head of the MIT History section, served as a consultant on the new Ken Burns documentary, "The Central Park Five.” He also appears in the film, providing historical perspective on the shocking events that began on April 20, 1989, when a jogger was raped and severely beaten in New York’s Central Park. In this interview, he reflects on what makes this story relevant today. More
The finest music composed and performed by MIT’s renowned music faculty and students is now available in The Listening Room—an online collection that showcases the Institute’s longstanding engagement with music. “The arts at MIT are rooted in experimentation, risk-taking, and imaginative problem-solving, said, Deborah Fitzgerald, Kenan Sahin Dean of the MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. "The Listening Room now opens the doors for a worldwide audience to enjoy the MIT musical experience." More
The single best thing about college for MIT Professor of History Anne McCants was "exploring ideas ravenously." It was like being in a candy store for four years,” she says. Now, as newly appointed director of Concourse, a learning community for MIT freshmen, McCants says her goal is to give today’s students the same heady experience of intellectual adventure and discovery within the context of a supportive group.
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Consistently ranked among the top ten philosophy departments in the country, MIT’s small Philosophy section—just 12 full time professors—recently also drew attention for its extraordinary success in placing PhD graduates in tenure-track positions at top philosophy programs nationwide. The Leiter Reports, an influential publication in the field, placed MIT second in grad student placement, just behind New York University, a program nearly twice as large. Because obtaining a faculty position in philosophy is notoriously difficult—often 700 applicants for every appointment—many are wondering: what is the secret of MIT’s outsized success? More
"Like a diary from the forgotten past, computer code is embedded with stories of a program’s making, its purpose, its assumptions, and more. Every symbol within a program can help to illuminate these stories and open historical and critical lines of inquiry.” More
News, Research, Kudos
Published by the Office of the Dean
MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences December 2012 Edition
Friday, December 7, 2012
Bartos Theater, E51-070 | 1-5:30pm
Free and open to the public
Schedule + Commentary
The journal Physics World has named How the Hippies Saved Physics, by MIT professor David Kaiser, to the shortlist of the ten physics books that are finalists for the Physics Book of the Year Award for 2012. The winner will be announced on December 18, 2012. More
The Burchard Scholars Program brings together distinguished members of the faculty and promising MIT sophomores and juniors who have demonstrated excellence in some aspect of the humanities, arts, or social sciences. More
Do you have a favorite professor, instructor, or teaching assistant in the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences? You can reward a great teacher with the Levitan Award for Excellence in Teaching. Send an email nomination by December 14, 2012.
More
The prize, from the American Economic Association’s Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession (CSWEP), recognizes outstanding young women in economics. More
The Ethnicity, Nationalism and Migration section of the International Studies Association has awarded the Distinguished Book Award to Roger Petersen's Western Intervention in the Balkans, The Strategic Use of Emotion in Conflict (Cambridge University Press, 2011). Petersen is the Arthur and Ruth Sloan Professor of Political Science at MIT. More
Stefan Helmreich's book Alien Ocean, Anthropological Voyages in Microbial Seas, has won the 2012 Rachel Carson Book Prize, given by the Society for the Social Study of Science to recognize a book-length work of special social or political relevance in the area of science and technology studies. Alien Ocean (University of California Press, 2009) has also received two earlier significnt prizes: the 2010 Gregory Bateson Book Prize, awarded by the Society of Cultural Anthropology, and the 2010 Senior Book Prize from the American Ethnological Society. More
Associate Professor Michel DeGraff recently received a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation for his linguistics research in Haiti, which includes developing classroom tools to teach science and math in Haitian Creole (Kreyòl) for the first time. In this interview, he speaks about his vision for the research, about Haiti and Kreyòl, and how this project can be a model for reaching the millions of science-hungry students around the world who speak local languages like Haitian Creole. Read more
Junot Díaz, the MIT writing professor widely acclaimed for his vivid, inventive works of fiction, has won a 2012 MacArthur Fellowship, sometimes referred to as a “genius grant.” The MacArthur Foundation cited Díaz for his stories that use “raw, vernacular dialogue and spare, unsentimental prose to draw readers into the various and distinct worlds that immigrants must straddle.” More
What is citizenship and how is it affected by race and gender? How have concepts of identity evolved over time? and What role do race and gender play in contemporary border conflicts? These are among the central questions motivating the launch of The Borders Research Initiative in Women’s and Gender Studies at MIT, which will hold its kickoff event, "Border Crossing: Citizenship, Race, Gender," on October 12–13 at MIT’s Stata Center. More
The novel This is How You Lose Her, by author and MIT Professor of Writing, Junot Díaz, has been selected as a finalist for the prestigious National Book Awards. The National Book Awards Ceremony will take place on November 14, 2012 at the Cipriani Wall Street, New York City. More
Michel DeGraff, Associate Professor of Linguistics, is the Principal Investigator for a five-year project that will help develop classroom tools to teach science and math in Haitian Creole for the first time. Full Story at MIT News
Susan Silbey has received the 2012 Scott Award from ASA, a $25K Seed Grant from UCLA, and a grant from the MIT Simons Center for the Social Brain. More
MIT medievalist Arthur Bahr describes the Babel Working Group's conference, “Cruising in the Ruins" at which scholars from several fields explored large, compelling questions—as a way of advocating for more cross-discipliinary work, and the proposition that today's great universities could generate even better research and pedagogy by encouraging a “rhythm of disciplinary attachment and detachment."
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On the occasion of her retirement, the community salutes Susan Mannett, the longtime SHASS Director of Human Resources extraordinaire. More
News, Research, Kudos
Published by the Office of the Dean
MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences Visit Magazine
The most recent SHASS news and feature stories by the MIT News writers More
MIT SHASS research, programs, and faculty in the national and international media reports. More
Seth Mnookin, Assistant Professor of Science Writing, and co-director of the MIT SHASS Graduate Program in Science Writing (GPSW), has been awarded the 2012 Science in Society Journalism Award for his book The Panic Virus. Of the award, given annually by the National Association of Science Writers, Tom Levenson, MIT Professor of Science Writing, notes, "This is one of the very top awards in our field. It reflects the judgment of the leading science writing association in the world and it is an honor that only comes to superlative work." More
David Pesetsky, Professor of Linguistics, MIT SHASS, has been elected a Fellow of the Linguistic Society of America. The induction ceremony for the 2013 class of Fellows will take place on Friday, January 4, 2013 at the LSA Annual Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts. More
The MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences is pleased to announce the following faculty promotions, effective July 1, 2012. More
The School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences is very pleased to present the newest members of the faculty. They come to us with diverse backgrounds and vast knowledge in their areas of research: film and media studies; electoral behavior; science writing; opera and the politics of musical style; macroeconomics and finance; the internet and game studies; American political development; classical literature, and the Roman alphabet. Please join us in welcoming these excellent scholars into the School community. More
Acclaimed writer Ta-Nehisi Coates will join the School community for the 2012-13 academic year as a MLK Visiting Scholar in CMS/Writing. More
Q & A with the Pulitzer prize-winning author and MIT Professor of Writing More
Edward Schiappa is a Visiting Professor, and three members of the Taiwan-USA Alliance are Visiting Scholars for 2012-2013. More
Elouise Evee-Jones, Sarah Smith, and Amberly Steward have been chosen to serve as the Administrative Officers for Foreign Languages and Literatures, Comparative Media Studies, and Anthropology, respectively. More
Two MLK Visiting Scholars joined the School community for the 2011-12 academic year: Andra Gillespie in Political Science, and Sean Seymore in Science, Technology, and Society. More
Professor Jay Scheib's World of Wires will be performed at the ICA September 21 and 22. More
MIT's David Deveau, Senior Lecturer in Music, lauded as a pianist and as Artistic Director of Rockport Music by The Boston Musical Intelligencer. Rockport Music's 31st Chamber Music Festival concluded July 16, 2012.
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President Obama has named named MIT Associate Professor of Economics Parag Pathak as recipient of an Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their research careers. More
Violist Marcus Thompson, Robert R. Taylor Professor of Music at MIT, presented the world premiere of the Viola Concerto by composer Olly Wilson with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra on June 2. More
A brilliant, joyful commencement address, June 8, 2012 More
MIT SHASS economist Amy Finkelstein, a leader in studying health insurance markets, was named winner today of the prestigious John Bates Clark Medal, an annual award given by the American Economic Association (AEA). Full story at MIT News
MIT Theater Arts Associate Professor Jay Scheib, a 2011 Guggenheim Fellow, received a coveted 2012 Obie Award — off-broadway's highest honor—for his production of World of Wires. The Obies, or Off-Broadway Theater Awards, are annual awards given byThe Village Voice to selected theatre artists and productions worthy of distinction. More
"It is impossible to do justice to Dave’s generosity as a teacher and adviser...Perhaps the best of his many ways of teaching is by example." More
A new Center for Art, Science & Technology (CAST) is being established at MIT with support from a $1.5 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Full Story at MIT News
MIT SHASS in the media and news More
Apply for a grant from the de Florez Fund for Humor. Yes, it's true—at MIT you can be funded for being funny. The School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences invites MIT students, faculty, and staff to apply for grants from the de Florez Fund for Humor. More
Yablo, Professor of Philosophy in MIT's School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences — and has been awarded a 2012 Fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. More
Autor and Finkelstein are among the leaders from academia, business, public affairs, the humanities, and the arts elected as new members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. More
Makan, Associate Professor of Music in MIT's School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, has been awarded a 2012 Fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation for his “prior achievement and exceptional promise.” This is the second year in a row that a faculty member in Music and Theater Arts has received the Guggenheim. More
Collection of significant reviews, interviews, videos, broadcasts about the ideas
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"Governing the Gap" articulates the nuances of aligning regulatory ideals with real world conditions to achieve safety in science labs. More
Prize from the Center for Bilingual/Bicultural Studies honors cross-cultural fluency — an ability key to leadership and success in today's global world.
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MIT linguistics professor Shigeru Miyagawa has been selected to receive the President's Award for OpenCourseWare Excellence (ACE) for his contributions to the global OpenCourseWare and Open Education movements. Miyagawa, who is also head of the Foreign Languages and Literatures Section, has been a key member of the faculty team that has nurtured the development of MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW), has contributed a significant amount of his own course materials to the site, and has traveled extensively to spread the practice of openly sharing educational materials globally. More at MIT News
Annually, The Review of Economic Studies European Meetings selects seven of the most promising graduating doctoral students in economics and finance in the world to present their research to audiences in Europe. Three of this spring's graduating MIT SHASS Ph.D. students—Gabriel Carroll, Melissa Dell, and Nathan Hendren—have been honored as participants in the 2012 tour. More
The orchestra, under the direction of Adam K. Boyles, will spotlight two talented MIT students: Composer Dustin R. Katzin ’12 and pianist Yimin Chen ’13, on the season Finale Concert on May 4th in Kresge Auditorium. The evening will include Chen's performance of Prokofiev's first Piano Concerto, and the premiere of Katzin's "Schrödinger’s Cat: a Musical Journey into the Strange World of Quantum Physics." Full story
Four professors have been named 2012 MacVicar Faculty Fellows for their outstanding undergraduate teaching, mentoring and educational innovation. Three are from SHASS: William Broadhead, the Class of 1954 Career Development Associate Professor of History; David Kaiser, the Germeshausen Professor of the History of Science; and Nancy Lin Rose, the Charles P. Kindleberger Professor of Applied Economics. The fourth professor honored is Leslie Pack Kaelbling, the Panasonic Professor of Computer Science and Engineering. Full story at MIT News
With the generous support of the Mellon Foundation, the MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences awards up to three postdoctoral fellowships each year to promising young scholars working at the intersection of humanities disciplines, or between humanities and other disciplines. We are delighted to welcome our three new Mellon Postdoctoral Fellows for 2012-2014 — Rebecca Dirksen, Julia Panko, and Marcella Szablewicz — and to welcome back the Mellon Fellows for 2011-2013 and 2010-2012. Profiles of the Mellon Fellows
Deborah K. Fitzgerald, Kenan Sahin Dean of the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, has announced that Erica James, Associate Professor of Anthropology, has received the James A. ('45) and Ruth Levitan Prize in the Humanities. The $25,000 prize is awarded annually as a research fund to support innovative and creative scholarship in the humanities. Professor James's project is for research on the impact of anti-terrorism measures on charitable giving. More
The SHASS MacVicar Faculty Fellows discuss the significance,the goals—and the sheer fun—of teaching MIT students. More
Photographs, research areas, and commentary More
Dean Deborah Fitzgerald and members of the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences welcomed the PEN New England organization to the group’s new home at MIT during a reception held at the MIT Faculty Club on Monday March 5, 2012. The liveliness of the gathering, which brought together novelists, poets, scholars, publishers, agents, and members of the academy, gave a foretaste of the potential creative collaborations between the PEN and MIT communities. More
Pesetsky, Kaiser, and Sugawara in performance with the New Philharmonia
(Which one sings Sinatra?) More
Project prepares for year two in its response to Japan's disaster More
An historian who finds evidence and insight in literature, Rosalind Williams, Dibner Professor of the History of Science and Technology, recently completed a book examining the critical juncture when human endeavors began to dominate the planet as never before. Forthcoming from the University of Chicago Press (2013), Human Empire, explores this turning point in history and technology through the works of three writers from the late 1800s. More
The MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences is pleased to announce the following faculty promotions, which are effective 1 July 2012. More
González, the program coordinator for the MIT-SHASS Program in Women's and Gender Studies, received the 2012 MIT Excellence Award for Fostering Diversity and Inclusion at a ceremony held Tuesday, February 28, in Kresge Auditorium. More
Well said, Google! More
The SHASS Research Fund supports research in the areas of humanities, arts, and social sciences that shows promise of making an important contribution to the proposed area of activity. The School is pleased to announce the nine recipients for 2012. More
Associate Professor of Music Michael Cuthbert, together with an international team of researchers, has been awarded a $500K grant from the Digging into Data consortium (including $175K from the National Endowment for the Humanities). The grant supports his for work using computational techniques to study changes in Western musical style. More
I’ve chosen to ask myself a very simple question: What have I, Edward Turk, been doing at MIT all these years? I will begin with a reminiscence. The time is May 1967, near the end of my senior year at Brooklyn College. I am seated in the Grand Ballroom of the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan.... More
To celebrate the first 50 years of MIT’s graduate program in Linguistics, alumni, former faculty and postdoctoral scholars attended a Scientific Reunion, held at MIT on December 9-11, 2011, and participated in a discussion of some of the foundational questions investigated by its past and present members. Professor David Pesetsky writes, "Intellectually, it was first-rate and exciting; there were some fireworks (just as we'd hoped). It was also a very emotional weekend. Collectively, this was the group that built the field." More
Charles Weiner, professor emeritus of the history of science and technology at MIT, died Saturday, January 28, 2012. in West Cork, Ireland. He was 80 and resided in New York and Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts. Weiner was the pre-eminent historian of his generation focusing on the political, social and ethical dimensions of contemporary science and the responses of scientists to public controversies arising from their work.... An aficionado of jazz and good food and a wonderful conversationalist, “Charlie” — as he was known to all — will be sorely missed as the kind of committed historian of science that America needs. Obituary at MIT News
In his new novel, Mr. g, and in two related essays, physicist/author Alan Lightman, Adjunct Professor in the MIT-SHASS Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies, engages with questions of ultimate reality. Of his novel, a reviewer writes, "With echoes of Calvino and Saramago, Mr. g celebrates the tragic and joyous nature of existence on the grandest possible scale." More
For MIT's 150th anniversary, Dean Deborah Fitzgerald and the School leadership initiated a new permanent exhibit about the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. Located on the first floor of Building 14, near Killian Hall, the exhibit presents the 20+ fields of study that make up the School, as well as an updating gallery of research, news, and profiles. Take a look
"I learned about the Mars Desert Research Station in the Utah desert where scientists and researchers go and wear spacesuits and live in full simulation for months at a time. So I began putting together the pieces..." More
"Our ability to make resolutions is at the center of our sense of free will." — Story in The Boston Globe More
How are new technologies transforming public discourse? Are traditional news outlets still influential in framing the news we get online? What are the legal dangers for publishing secrets in the crowd-sourced era? These are just a few of the questions recently addressed by the MIT Communications Forum. Founded in 1978—well before the advent of the Internet—by the pioneering media scholar Ithiel de Sola Pool of MIT’s Political Science Department, the forum continues to engage leading scholars, journalists, media producers, and others around the globe in cutting-edge discussions on how emerging media are changing our world. More
10th anniversary concert in memory of composer Edward Cohen. The concert will feature performances of Edward Cohen's Clarinet Quintet, the Capriccio for Solo Piano, and the Suite for Solo Flute. In addition, Radius will perform a new work for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, and percussion by MIT alumnus Andrew McPherson and Echo, for piano trio by Cohen’s widow, composer Marjorie Merryman. More
In anticipation of the world premiere performances of John Harbison’s Symphony No. 6 by the Boston Symphony Orchestra on January 12, 13, 14 and 17, 2012, the BSO and MIT will jointly present a roundtable discussion on the genesis of the new composition at MIT’s Kresge Auditorium from 6-7pm on Wednesday, January 11. The discussion will focus on several different aspects of the new work: its commissioning, composition, and rehearsal. More
Irene Heim, Professor of Linguistics, MIT SHASS, has been elected a Fellow of the Linguistic Society of America. The induction ceremony for the 2012 class of Fellows will take place on Friday, January 6, 2012 at the LSA Annual Meeting in Portland. More
"Judging by his masterful contributions on Thursday, at age 75 Riley has lost none of his legendary power to synthesize diverse musical traditions (Indian, Balinese, jazz, classical, acoustic, electronic) in provocative and inspirational ways. Riley’s performance was made possible by his longtime admirer, MIT professor Evan Ziporyn, a composer, musician, and Gamelan Galak Tika’s founder." — The Boston Globe More
Earlier this year, Bruno Perreau, Assistant Professor of French Studies, was awarded a Newton Fellowship from the British Academy. In November 2011, Perreau was also appointed as a Research Associate at Jesus College, Cambridge University. Story + 3 Questions with Perreau More + 3 Questions
The Music and Theater Arts Calendar includes jazz and classical concerts, theatrical productions, staged readings, silent film screenings and composer forums. More + Calendar of Events
MIT economist Robert M. Townsend, an expert in the ways financial systems and practices can contribute to the growth of developing economies, has been named winner of the Jean-Jacques Laffont Prize in economics for 2011. Townsend, the Killian Professor of Economics at MIT, will receive the award in January 2012 in Toulouse, France, where he will give a lecture titled “Financial Design and Economic Development.” More
Armed with data, an MIT lab offers fresh insight on some of the world’s most vexing problems. For nearly a decade, MIT economics professors Esther Duflo, and Abhijit Banerjee, have worked with a global network of researchers to conduct experiments in the world’s poorest places - where families live on less than $1 day - and reached conclusions that are changing the way economists and policy makers think about development in impoverished areas. More
The Nyan Cat first installed by MIT hackers in Lobby 7 is now on display in the MIT-SHASS exhibit in Building 14. This is an MIT student work portraying the popular internet meme, Nyan Cat (or Pop-Tart Cat), an 8-bit animation depicting a cat with the body of a cherry pop tart who flies through outer space leaving a rainbow trail. The MIT-Nyan Cat is sporting a festive, silver lamé trail to celebrate the winter holidays. Warm thanks to the student hackers for generously lending their Nyan Cat to the curated exhibit wall for the winter season. More
Meeting 21st energy requires both technological solutions and innovation and input from economic, political, social and cultural spheres. Technical issues have human and social components, and there is no one solution to the energy problem. • More
The Japanese Government has announced that the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star, will be conferred upon Richard J. Samuels, Ford International Professor of Poltiical Science at MIT, in recognition of his significant contributions to scholarship about Japan and for promoting friendly relations between Japan and the United States of America. Professor Samuels will receive the decoration from Prime Minister Noda on November 7, 2011, and will be presented to the Emperor of Japan at the Imperial Palace. More
Lucas Papademos, a three-time alumnus of MIT, has been named the prime minister of Greece, where he will head an interim coalition government aiming to save the country from bankruptcy. Papademos received his SB in physics from MIT in 1970, an SM in electrical engineering in 1972 and a PhD in economics in 1978. Full story
Sally Haslanger, Professor of Philosophy and Director of Women’s and Gender studies, has been honored by the YWCA in MIT's hometown, Cambridge, Massachusetts, for work to eliminate racism and empower women. The Tribute to Outstanding Women Award was established to recognize extraordinary commitment made by Cambridge-area women who have distinguished themselves through professional work and community service. More
Dr. Auon's talk — "The Future of American Higher Education in the Global Knowledge Marketplace" — took place Wednesday, October 26, 2011, at 5 pm, at the MIT Bartos Theater, Building E15, 20 Ames Street, Cambridge. A festive public reception followed. A video of the event is available. More
Profiles of the first six recipients of the biennial award, which was founded in 2000 by Robert and Berit Muh, to honor MIT alums who make significant career contributions in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. More
For more than 30 years, the MIT Communications Forum has played a unique role at the Institute and beyond as a locus for sustained exploration of the cultural, political, economic and technological impact of communications, with special emphasis on emerging technologies. The 2011 Forum series continues the exploration this fall with three in-depth panels: Local News in the Digital Age; Surveillance and Citizenship; and Cities and the Future of Entertainment. More
Eleven years after the disputed 2000 presidential election thrust the subject of electoral integrity into the spotlight, many of the challenges that jeopardized that election remain unresolved, voting experts said at an MIT-hosted conference. “Election Integrity: Past, Present, and Future,” was convened by the Caltech/MIT Voting Technology Project (VTP), and brought together election administrators, academics and technology professionals from around the country. A central theme of the conference was election integrity: assuring that votes are both recorded and counted as they were cast.
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The Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) has selected Esther Duflo, MIT Professor of Economics, as the winner of the 2011 David N. Kershaw Award. The Kershaw Award and Prize comes with an honorarium of $10,000 and recognizes individuals under the age of 40 who have made distinguished contributions to the field of public policy analysis. More
Collected national and international news about the School's research, people, and productions More
The School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences is pleased to present the newest members of the faculty. They come to us with diverse backgrounds and vast knowledge in their fields: social movement communication, women and gender issues of the Middle East and North Africa, 20th century mass entertainment in Japan, and political philosophy. We are very fortunate to have this superb group of scholars join the School. More
September 22, 4:30-6pm, MIT Tang Center | Noam Chomsky will discuss “The Responsibility of Intellectuals,” revisiting the controversial topic he first addressed in 1967. He will also publish a companion essay in the September/October 2011 issue of Boston Review. The Chomsky event kicks off the second year of the Ideas Matter lecture series, a joint project of Boston Review and the MIT Political Science Department. The last event of 2010—“Government’s Role in the Market” by Eliot Spitzer, introduced by Simon Johnson—completely filled Wong Auditorium and produced a lively Q&A with the audience that was broadcast on CSPAN’s BookTV.
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Landmark study shows the effects of health insurance program: much better health and more financial stability for the poor; more bills paid for hospitals and doctors. Professors of Economics Amy Finkelstein (a principal investigator) and Jonathan Gruber contributed to the study. More
Americans are greatly concerned about the number of our troops killed in battle — 100,000 dead in World War I; 300,000 in World War II; 33,000 in the Korean War; 58,000 in Vietnam; 4,500 in Iraq; more than 1,000 in Afghanistan — and rightly so. But why are we so indifferent, often oblivious, to the far greater number of casualties suffered by those we fight and those we fight for? This is the compelling, largely unasked question that John Tirman, a principal research scientist and executive director at the MIT Center for International Studies, answers in The Deaths of Others. More
The arts at MIT connect creative minds across disciplines and encourage a lifetime of exploration and self-discovery. They are rooted in experimentation, risk-taking and imaginative problem-solving. The arts strengthen MIT’s commitment to the aesthetic, human, and social dimensions of research and innovation. Artistic knowledge and creation exemplify our motto — mens et manus, mind and hand. The arts are essential to MIT’s mission to build a better society and meet the challenges of the 21st century. More
The men who drove MIT's early development were "charismatic, diverse, quirky, sometimes tragic individuals," says Philip Alexander, a research associate in the Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies. In A Widening Sphere: Evolving Cultures at MIT, his new book honoring the Institute's 150th anniversary, he describes how its first nine presidents, from William Barton Rogers to Karl Taylor Compton, shaped much of its first century. More
MIT's Festival of Art, Technology and Science (FAST) was a prominent feature of the MIT150 events, a festival celebrating MIT’s unique confluence of art, science, and technology. With strong participation by the School's music and theater arts faculty and communities, the festival presented an exciting, surprising variety of work, embracing past to future, performance to debate, and installations to the unclassifiable. FAST appeared throughout the MIT campus and extended over the entire spring semester, punctuated by five special festival weekend events. More
David's Kaiser's new book explore how a handful of countercultural scientists changed the course of physics in the1970s and helped open up the frontier of quantum information. More at MIT News
Tobias Harris and Anna Waldman-Brown will study abroad in the 2011-12 academic year. Harris, a PhD candidate in political science, will travel to Japan to conduct interviews and archival research for his project titled “The Politics of Reform in Japan, 1955-2009.” Waldman-Brown ’11, who graduated in June 2011 month with an SB in writing/humanistic studies and physics, will travel to Ghana to research sustainable energy solutions. More
Recent writing, humanistic studies, and physics graduate—and public service fellow—will teach the science of energy generation in Ghana. More
Pauline Maier, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of American History, in MIT's School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, has won the 2011 George Washington Book Prize for her book Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787-1788. Ratification has been widely hailed as the definitive story of the most consequential political debate in American history. The George Washington Book Prize is co-sponsored by Washington College, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and George Washington's Mt. Vernon. Its $50,000 Award is the largest prize nationwide for a book on early American history, and one of the largest literary prizes of any kind. More
An award-winning science writer and author of the acclaimed biography The Man Who Knew Infinity, Robert Kanigel has spent his career exploring the evolution of society through a series of unique lenses that reveal what we have gained from modernity—and what we’ve lost. A windswept island village off the coast of Ireland, is the setting for his next book—a story of love and friendship, literature and language, in the early years of the twentieth century. More
With this award, the Center for Bilingual/Bicultural Studies salutes cross-cultural fluency—an ability key to leadership and success in today's global world. More
Institute Professor John Harbison was presented on Monday night with the American Music Center’s Founders Award, given since 1999 for lifetime achievement in the field of new American music. Previous winners of the award have included Elliott Carter, Steve Reich, Charles Ives, Count Basie and Philip Glass. Full story at MIT News
For MIT's historic Open House on April 30, 2011, all the School's disciplines and programs gathered in one central location to present idea stations on leading research, musical concerts, games, videos, demonstrations, book raffles and book signings, readings, tours, talks, and a tent next to Kresge with café-style seating for snacks and visiting. A great scene! More
Charles Stewart III, the Kenan Sahin Distinguished Professor of Political Science, is among the 212 new members elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The Academy is one of the most prestigious honorary societies in the nation and is a leader in independent policy research. This high honor recognizes the excellence and impact of Stewart’s work in areas of congressional politics, elections, and American political development. More
Deborah K. Fitzgerald, Kenan Sahin Dean of the School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, is delighted to announce that the James A. (1945) and Ruth Levitan Prize in the Humanities has been awarded to Adam Berinsky, Associate Professor of Political Science. The $25,000 prize is awarded annually as a research fund to support innovative and creative scholarship in the humanities by faculty members in MIT's School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. The prize, first awarded in 1990, was established through a gift from the late James A. Levitan, a 1945 MIT graduate in chemistry, who was also a member of the MIT Corporation. More
Composer/pianist and MLK Visiting Scholar, Donal Fox will have the New York premiere of his “Hear De Lambs A-Cryin" at Carnegie Hall, performed by the Albany Symphony Orchestra. The concert, entitled "Spring For Music: Spirituals Re-Imagined," also features work by John Harbison, MIT Institute Professor of Music. It begins at 7:30pm, and will be broadcast live from Carnegie Hall on NPR stations nationwide. During intermission there will also be an interview with Donal at the piano hosted by Elliot Forrest for WNYC/WQXR. More
Scheib was chosen from among thousands of distinguished artists, scholars, and scientists as a 2011 Guggenehim Fellow. The prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship is an award for advanced, mid-career professionals, who are chosen from among thousands of distinguished artists, scholars, and scientists. Fellowships are awarded to those who have "demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts," and are designed to allow recipients time to work with "as much creative freedom as possible." More
Jonathan Levin PhD ’99 was named winner of the John Bates Clark Medal on Friday, awarded annually by the American Economics Association to the best economist under the age of 40. More
Thakkar, a biology and materials science and engineering major, plans to pursue a career in global health, advocating for low-income populations. On the occasion of the Scholarship award Thakkar commented on the role of the Burchard Scholars program in her MIT education. "Having attended just the dinners this semester," Thakkar said, "I have learned so much! I love the program, and it is such a fantastic way for me to meet my peers who have similar interests, and to expand my humanities knowledge." More
Historian of science, Seth Shulman, a Vannevar Bush Fellow in 1985-86, and the inaugural Dibner Science Writing Fellow in 2004-05, has received a 2011 Guggenheim Fellowship award in support of his forthcoming book project on Thomas Edison's role creating in the electric automobile. More
This excellent podcast interview with Daron Acemoglu, Charles P. Kindleberger Professor of Economics, examines the role of income inequality in the financial crash. More
Special forum on March 16, 2011, co-sponsored by the Center for International Studies and the MIT Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering. Three MIT experts discuss Japan's nuclear past, present, and future from a political and engineering perspective. The presentation includes an eyewitness account of the crisis and the Japanese government's response. More + Video of the Forum
Japan has more than 50 nuclear power plants and had planned to build two dozen more by 2030, according to Samuels, Ford International Professor of Political Science, and director of MIT's Center for International Studies, who has written on Japanese energy and security policy. More
The Smithsonian Institution and MIT's Comparative Media Studies program have announced the April 4, 2011 launch of vanished, an 8-week online/offline environmental disaster mystery game for middle-school children, designed to inspire problem-solving and collaboration through science. More
Why is the idea of Universal Grammar controversial? What does linguistics tell us about how we think? — Q&A with David Pesetsky, Ferrari P. Ward Professor of Modern Languages and Linguistics, and Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
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David Pesetsky, Ferrari P. Ward Professor of Modern Languages and Linguistics, has been named a Fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Five other members of the MIT community have received this distinction as well. Pesetsky, who is also Margaret MacVicar Faculty Fellow, was chosen for “his innovative and critical research on syntactic theory, connecting it to issues in phonology, morphology, reading, language acquisition and neuroscience, and for his contributions to linguistic education at many levels.” More
MIT150 and MIT Press have partnered to bring out two books for MIT's sesquicentennial year—both works authored by members of the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. David Kaiser, Professor in Science, Technology and Society, is the editor of Becoming MIT: Moments of Decision. Philip Alexander, of the Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies, is the author of A Widening Sphere: Evolving Cultures at MIT. More
Colloquium and concert on February 19, 2011 to celebrate the Arts at MIT. Premiered in the United States by the Handel and Haydn Society in 1859 (and last performed by the Society in 1974), this monumental work depicts the biblical story of Exodus. It recounts in detail the ten plagues, and celebrates the extraordinary parting and crossing of the Red Sea. More
The MIT Music section is pleased to announce that Amanda Mok ’11, a double major in Biological Engineering and Music, is the 2011 winner of the MIT Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition. Mok will perform the first movement of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No.1 with MITSO, on March 11, 2011. A classic, multi-talented MIT student, Amanda is a successful scholar and accomplished musician, and deeply engaged in the Institute community. Joya Abbott-Graves had a chance to sit down and talk with Amanda recently, to learn more about her musical life, and what comes next. More
The History of Science Society has awarded the Watson Davis and Helen Miles Davis Prize to Marcia Bartusiak for The Day We Found the Universe, (Pantheon), calling it "a beautifully written, informative book on a critical topic in the history of science" and a "rich, complex, yet crystal-clear narrative" that depicts a seminal moment in history. More
This symposium, organized by the School's Department of Economics and the Sloan School of Management, celebrated the role of MIT’s faculty and students in advancing the fields of economics and finance, in putting the latest developments into practice, and in contributing to the design of public policy. A series of six panels, which included Nobel laureates, policy makers, and academic and industry experts, addressed three broad questions: • What are the key recent scientific developments and the major unresolved issues of economics and finance? • What are the central challenges in economic policy? • How can one assess the contributions of, and limitations of, recent advances in financial economics? Story + On Demand Videos
précis, the newsletter from the School's Center for International Studies, covers the wide range of Center activities and tracks the accomplishments of faculty, researchers and affiliates. Features from the current issue include an excerpt from Democratic Insecurities: Violence, Trauma, and Intervention in Haiti by Erica Caple James. Go to précis
The Institute has embarked on a major, long-term effort to promote intellectual and technological exchange...A major part of the Institute’s effort will also be the expansion of the study of China at MIT. A new chair in the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, The Quanta Professorship in Chinese Culture, has recently been established thanks to a $5 million donation. Full story at MIT News
Institute Professor Peter Diamond PhD ’63 will collect the Nobel Prize in economics on Friday, Dec. 10, during a ceremony at the Stockholm Concert Hall in Sweden. Diamond, Dale T. Mortensen of Northwestern University and Christopher A. Pissarides of the London School of Economics won the prize for their analysis of “markets with search frictions,” which roughly equates to any setting in which buyers and sellers don’t easily find one another. More
David Kaiser has been elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society, following nomination by the APS's Forum on the History of Physics. The citation reads: "For his outstanding publications that combine technical mastery of twentieth-century physics with a deep knowledge of recent developments in the history, philosophy, and sociology of science." More
Alexander C.Y. Huang, Research Affiliate in the School's Literature section, and Associate Professor of Comparative Literature at Penn State, has won the MLA's Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for Comparative Literary Studies for Chinese Shakespeares (Columbia University Press, 2009). Huang's book is called a "landmark" in comparative literary studies. With Peter Donaldson, Ford Foundation Professor Humanities at MIT, Huang is also the co-founder and co-editor of two open-access digital video archives, Global Shakespeares and Shakespeare Performance in Asia. More
"Jennifer Lai, a senior who is majoring in biological engineering and music and theater arts, has received a Rhodes Scholarship to study next year at Oxford University. Lai, 21, of Honolulu, joins a distinguished company of 43 former MIT recipients who have won the prestigious international scholarships since they were first awarded to Americans in 1904." More
"A stunning examination of... 'the beginning of American national politics' — the debate that explains the way we Americans govern ourselves, resolve disputes, conduct diplomacy, choose leaders and protect our freedoms." More
The Program brings together MIT sophomores and juniors and distinguished faculty from the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences for eight elegant dinner-seminars at MIT’s Faculty Club. Recently, for example, Professor of History Craig Wilder led the Burchard Scholars in an examination of a series of controversial paintings commissioned in the 1930s. Then, over a memorable dinner, the students and faculty discussed the implications of dueling imagery in the historic murals. More
Bringing together the resources of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is no easy task, but newly appointed Associate Professor D. Fox Harrell recently succeeded in leading a joint workshop focused on research informed by both arts and science disciplines. 55 thought leaders gathered in September 2010 to explore the goal of using technology to better understand society—and using the humanities and arts to build creative computational systems. More
Ben Ross Schneider has been awarded a Ford Foundation International Chair, making him Ford Foundation International Professor of Political Science as of January 1, 2011. More
On Friday, Nov. 5, President Barack Obama named Amy Finkelstein, Professor of Economics, and six other researchers from MIT as recipients of the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers. More
Peter A. Diamond PhD '63, Institute Professor and professor of economics at MIT's School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, has won the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for 2010. Diamond has received the award along with two co-winners, Dale T. Mortensen of Northwestern University and Christopher A. Pissarides of the London School of Economics. Full story and profile
Deborah K. Fitzgerald, Kenan Sahin Dean of the MIT School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, has announced that the James A. and Ruth Levitan Prize in the Humanities has been awarded to Mary Fuller, Professor of Literature. The $25,000 Levitan Prize, a gift from the late James A. Levitan, a 1945 MIT graduate in chemistry, is awarded annually as a research fund to support innovative and creative scholarship in the humanities. • More
Over recent decades, Pulitzer-winning historian John W. Dower has addressed the roots and consequences of war from multiple perspectives. Here he examines the cultures of war revealed by four powerful events—Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima, 9-11, and the invasion of Iraq in the name of a war on terror. More
Two alumni of the MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences — linguist Jessie Little Doe Baird SM ’00, who is working to revitalize a long-silent Algonquin language, and economist Emmanuel Saez PhD ’99, who studies the relationship between income and tax policy — have been named 2010 MacArthur Fellows. The fellowships, awarded each year, carry a $500,000 purse. • More
Professor of Anthropology, Stefan Helmreich's most recent book, Alien Ocean: Anthropological Voyages in Microbial Seas, has been chosen from a field of more than 80 entries, as the recipient of the distinguished Bateson Book Prize, awarded by the Society for Cultural Anthropology. Welcoming a wide range of styles and argument, the Bateson Prize honors work that is theoretically rich, ethnographically grounded, interdisciplinary, and innovative. •
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Professor Richard Locke is on a mission as the new head of the Political Science Department — MIT’s mission: to bring knowledge to bear on the world’s great challenges. “I believe every single one of the units of MIT should be reinforcing that mission,” says Locke, whose appointment took effect July 1. “What, therefore, can Political Science do to tackle and address the world’s great challenges?” Full story and profile
“Jim is a first-rate scholar, a crack administrator, and a splendid identifier of emerging trends and new directions in humanities scholarship and activity. For many years he has been cultivating new faculty who are on the cutting edge of their fields in writing and media. He will be an excellent Interim Head and wise counsel to students and colleagues alike.” — Dean Deborah Fitzgerald Full story and profile
Two new MLK Visiting Scholars are joining the School community for the 2010-11 academic year: Isaac Mbiti in Economics, and Reuben Buford May in Anthropology. Following a year of inspiring teaching and acclaimed performances, Donal Fox, MLK Visiting Artist in Music and Theater Arts for 2009-10, will be continuing for a second year. Profiles of the MLK Visiting Scholars
Multi-disciplinary approach
MIT's new energy minor, launched in 2009, provides a multidisciplinary approach to understanding the policy, economics, science and technology of energy. All MIT undergraduate students now have a new academic option available: a minor in energy, which can be combined with any major subject. The new minor, unlike most energy concentrations available at other institutions, is inherently cross-disciplinary, encompassing all of MITs five schools. Courses from the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences include: Environmental Policy and Economics; Energy Economics and Policy; and Energy, Environment, and Society.
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Fundamental ethical questions were up for debate recently as distinguished moral philosophers gathered at MIT for a daylong conference on Normativity — a groundbreaking 2008 treatise by MIT philosophy professor emeritus Judith Jarvis Thomson. “Debate was vigorous, lively, and good humored — in all the ways that humor can be good!” said Professor Richard Holton, head of the Philosophy Section. More
Excerpt from MIT Admissions Student Blog | Guest Blog by Dora '11, double major in course 8 and Ancient and Medieval Studies. She writes: "There are lots of people here who love the humanities, and who approach subjects in humanities with the same excitement and fervor that they approach their technical fields.... humanities at MIT carries a distinctly MIT feel: challenging, stimulating, and entirely fulfilling. More
"Rethinking Water" workshop shows significance of research in the humanities and social sciences for meeting global water needs. More
Professor of Philosophy, Sally Haslanger, a scholar widely respected for her work on the metaphysics of gender and race, has received highest honors from two prestigious associations in philosophy. She has been named the 2011 Carus Lecturer, an honor presented bi-annually by the American Philosophical Association (APA), and she has been selected Distinguished Woman Philosopher of 2010 by the Society for Women in Philosophy. • More
Esther Duflo PhD '99, the Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics in the School's Department of Economics, has been named winner of the 2010 John Bates Clark medal. Duflo whose influential research has prompted new ways of fighting poverty around the globe, is the second woman to be given the award, which ranks below only the Nobel Prize in prestige within the economics profession and is considered a reliable indicator of future Nobel consideration. The medal is awarded (now annually) to the American economist under the age of forty who is judged to have made the most significant contribution to economic thought and knowledge. More
Please note that this is a subscription-only story; a precis is available without subscription. Story by Ian Parker appears in the May 17, 2010 edition of The New Yorker, p. 79. Connect to story in The New Yorker
When Swedish anthropologist Erland Nordenskiöld went to study the Kuna people of Panama in 1927, their leader, Nele Kantule, essentially handed Nordenskiöld a record of his people’s customs, beliefs, and history. “Anthropology of the Kuna was started by the Kuna. And they continue to do it,” says Professor of Anthropology James Howe, who examines the relationship between the Kuna and their own enthnography in his new book. More
Haiti’s past casts a long shadow over its future, according to four MIT scholars (all with strong personal ties to Haiti) who spoke at a Starr Forum held to explore the future of the country. Insights from Michel DeGraff, associate professor of linguistics, Erica James, associate professor of anthropology, Cherie Miot Abbanat, lecturer in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning, and Dale Joachim, a visiting scientist at the MIT Media Lab. Learn about the keys to Haiti's future
The controversy in the 1870s over Thirlmere, a picturesque body of water in Britain’s Lake District, created a “template for subsequent environmental struggles,” writes Harriet Ritvo, the Arthur Conner Professor of History at MIT. Ritvo’s recent book, The Dawn of Green, published in 2009 by the University of Chicago Press, explores this episode and its ongoing influence on the way we frame environmental discussions and debates. More
In an interview with MIT News, Mindell responds to the Obama administration’s recent budget proposal for NASA. The proposal would increase the agency’s budget but would cancel the Constellation program, which was intended to send humans to the moon by 2020, and would also rely on the commercial sector to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station. Full Story at MIT News
Joe Haldeman, Adjunct Professor in the School's Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies, has received the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master award for 2010 from the Science Fiction and Science Fantasy Writers of America. The Grand Master award is SFWA’s highest accolade and recognizes excellence for a lifetime of contributions to the genres of science fiction and fantasy.
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Natasha Schull, Assistant Professor in the Program in Science, Technology, and Society, observed that gamblers become transfixed for hours at video poker and slot machines. What, she wondered, kept them glued to machines until they lost all they had to lose? Schull is publishing her conclusions that proprietary mathematical algorithms and immersive technology are used to keep people gambling until they—in the industry jargon—"play to extinction." More
"I have been to over 40 countries (Africa seven times) and have always come back a nervous wreck. The blog is drawn from journals that I write while traveling. These journals are to me what Prozac is to others." More
A September 2009 report from the MIT Global Council outlines an historic opportunity to deepen international learning at the Institute, and to make international education a core component of an MIT education.
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