MITHIC: One Year In
Recreating the forms and sounds of historical musical instruments
World-class
research
Without human understanding, there is no understanding. We are home to scholars and artists doing transformative work in fields vital to addressing the world’s most important challenges. Our faculty develop the values, vision, and ethical compass of tomorrow’s leaders.
Our faculty are among the world’s leading experts in their fields. Here you’ll find a selection of recent publications from SHASS scholars.
Seeds of something different
Program in Science, Technology, and Society professor Kate Brown’s new book, “Tiny Gardens Everywhere: The Past, Present, and Future of the Self-Provisioning City,” examines the hidden history of urban farming, its extensive use, and the politics of growing food. “In a little space, you can grow a lot of produce,” Brown says. “You can have another job and still grow food.”
This new tool could tell us how consciousness works
MIT philosopher Matthias Michel co-authored research that proposes a roadmap for using transcranial focused ultrasound, a noninvasive way to stimulate the brain and see how it functions. “There are very few reliable ways of manipulating brain activity that are safe but also work,” he says.
MIT graduates share how their SHASS education prepared them to take on the world’s greatest challenges.
Ankita Reddy ’19
Anthropology (Course 21A)
Biology (Course 7)
“My classes, discussions, and connections fostered through SHASS taught me the value of deep listening, priming me to ask difficult questions about technological solutions (and to have the courage to do so).”
Meicen Sun PhD ’22
Political Science
“SHASS provided the crucial resources and flexibility needed to investigate how we can approach the social sciences from the perspective of information science.”
Music & Theater Arts gives students the opportunity to explore these disciplines as artistic practices and as cultural, intellectual, and personal avenues of inquiry and discovery.
Music on the brain
Graduate student Claire Southard ’25 explores new frontiers in music technology.
Students learn theater design through the power of play
MIT Theater faculty invite students to draw upon their personal experiences to create evocative set, sound, and lighting designs.
Broadening student minds
If you want to make the world a better place, you need to understand how it works. SHASS plays an essential role at MIT, ensuring our students have a deep understanding of the human implications of the world’s biggest challenges.
Latest news from SHASS
Our work has broad impact at MIT and across the globe. Read the latest about new ideas coming out of SHASS.
Bridging medical realities in the study of technology and health
Anthropologist Amy Moran-Thomas studies overlooked insights from people health care is meant to reach.
What’s the right path for AI?
Conference speakers discussed the unfolding trajectory of AI and the benefits of shaping technology to meet people’s needs.
Preserving Keres
Linguistics graduate student William Pacheco hopes to preserve his endangered native language, while also becoming a better learner and educator.
In the media
In poems and essays, a writer celebrates Black excellence
For U.S., unmet expectations in Iran fit a familiar pattern in the region
The Hormuz minefield
How NAFTA shortened American life spans
SHASS videos
The Edward and Joyce Linde Music Building
