Said and Done


Said and Done | May 2010
Office of the Dean
MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

 

 




KUDOS


Esther Duflo awarded the Clark Medal
Esther Duflo PhD '99, the Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics in the Department of Economics, has won the 2010 John Bates Clark medal, which is considered an indicator of future Nobel consideration. Duflo's research has prompted new ways of fighting poverty around the globe.
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Cabellero and Posen elected to Academy of Arts and Sciences 
Ricardo Caballero, Ford International Professor of Economics, and Head, Department of Economics; and Barry Posen, Director of the MIT Security Studies Program and Ford International Professor of Political Science, are among six members of the MIT community recently elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
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Wilder and DeRobertis awarded Fulbright grants
Craig Wilder, Professor of History, has been awarded a Fulbright Senior Specialists Grant to collaborate with colleagues in Israel. Charles DeRobertis ’10, a double major in Spanish and biology has received a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to work in Spain next year. 
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Bartusiak receives award from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
The Society has honored Marcia Bartusiak, Adjunct Professor in the Graduate Program in Science Writing, with its Klumpke-Roberts Award in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the public understanding and appreciation of astronomy.
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RESEARCH PORTFOLIO
 

 

Anthropology
Howe charts anthropology's shift to collaborative model
In Chiefs, Scribes, and Ethnographers, James Howe, Professor of Anthropology, illuminates the dialogue at the heart of ethnography, and charts the Kuna's role in their own ethnography—a position that puts them at the forefront of anthropology's ongoing shift from an observational to a collaborative model. 

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Philosophy
Are we hard-wired for a basic moral sense?
If a runaway trolley is destined to hit a group of five people but can be diverted onto a track where it will hit only one, is it right to divert it? What if it can only be stopped by throwing somebody in front of it? 

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Economics
The deep roots of inequality 

MIT economics student Melissa Dell's study of Peru shows how practices from hundreds of years ago can influence prosperity today. "Pathbreaking," says Harvard Professor of Government James Robinson. 
Story by Peter Dizikes at MIT News

 

 


 



COMMUNITY PROFILES

 

Edward Hoyt '57 |  Founder, Hoyt Humanities Fund; Member of the Visiting Committee
Ed Hoyt, who directed Morgan Guaranty Trust's business in parts of Central and South America and its office in Singapore, says, "A grounding in the arts, humanities and social sciences develops the capacity to communicate ideas and manage solutions—skills that are necessary to making great ideas work in the world.”
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NEWS AND FEATURES 
 

Anthropology students assist with UN human rights review
"One of the greatest things about this class is that we are shaping a report that can have a positive impact for the indigenous people in Panama. The feeling of coming to class  for an actual, direct cause is amazing!” — Dorota Chapko ’12, brain and cognitive sciences
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Diamond nominated by President Obama for Federal Reserve post
"MIT economist and Institute Professor Peter Diamond PhD ’63 has been nominated by US President Barack Obama to serve on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States. If confirmed to what would be a 14-year term, Diamond would be one of seven governors on the board."  
Story by Peter Dizikes at MIT News

Fravel named research associate for National Asia Research Program
M. Taylor Fravel, the Cecil and Ida Green Career Development Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science has been selected for the first class of research associates and fellows of the National Asia Research Program.
Full story

 


 
Comparative Media Studies celebrates 10th anniversary
In ten years, CMS has grown from a proposal by Professor Henry Jenkins and Dean Philip Khoury into a preeminent international program, conducting projects that shape the future of areas from childhood education to government accountability. 
Full story and podcasts


3 Questions: David Jones on heart problems
Physician and historian of medicine explains why bypass surgery is popular even though it fails to help many patients.
Story by Peter Dizikes at MIT News


Reciprocal borrowing program with Harvard College Library is underway
Undergraduate students at Harvard and MIT may now participate in a pilot program that enables reciprocal borrowing privileges for undergraduates at the two institutions. 
Full story + how to sign up

 


 




MULTIMEDIA
 

Why is the US defense budget so big?  
The "Audits of Conventional Wisdom" — a CIS publication — explores the answer.
Watch


Memorial Service for Paul Anthony Samuelson
In a career that spanned seven decades, Nobel laureate and Institute Professor Paul Samuelson transformed his field, influenced millions of students, and turned MIT into an economics powerhouse. This video and slide show records the memorial gathering, held at MIT on April 10, 2010, to celebrate his life and career.
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