SAID AND DONE
November 2018
MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
QUOTABLE
"What is written in a constitution can take a nation only so far unless society is willing to act to protect it. We have to keep reminding ourselves that the future of our much-cherished institutions depends not on others but on ourselves, and that we are all individually responsible for our institutions."
— Daron Acemoglu, Killian Professor of Economics
RESEARCH
POLITICAL SCIENCE
The aftermath of violence | Volha Charnysh
Charnysh's focus on the political and economic impacts of major conflicts began when she investigated the massive population shifts that took place in and around Poland following World War II. Her research, which bears on current issues of migration and immigration, also has a personal resonance.
Profile by Leda Zimmerman
POLITICAL SCIENCE
Refining the science of political science | Teppei Yamamoto
An expert in research methodology, Yamamoto focuses on questions of cause and effect, and finding ways to separate the multiple components of what can appear to be a single cause.
Story by Peter Dizikes, MIT News
NEW BOOKS
Watch Me Play | T.L. Taylor
In her new book, Taylor Watch Me Play: explores how computer gaming became a big-time spectator sport — and analyzes some of the social tensions of the gaming subculture.
Story by Peter Dizikes, MIT News
Anthropology in the Meantime | Michael M.J. Fischer
In a book that provides a 100 year history of the methods and frameworks in anthropology, Fischer rebuilds theory for the twenty-first century.
About the book | Webpage: Michael M.J. Fischer
For all recent faculty books and recordings, visit the MIT SHASS Online Bookshelf.
FEATURE | AFRICA AND INNOVATION
Assistant Professor Amah Edoh; photo by Jon Sachs / SHASS Communications
GLOBAL STUDIES & LANGUAGES
Human Factor Interview | Amah Edoh on Africa and Innovation
"Africa today is seen as the future of global innovation and entrepreneurship in areas from technology to the arts. Important questions about Africa’s new visibility include: Who is recognized as an expert? What knowledge is considered worth carrying forward?"
Interview by SHASS Communications
TO MAKE A MORE PERFECT UNION
POLITICAL SCIENCE
Got truth? MIT scholars take a rational look at increasingly irrational political discourse
The problem of political misinformation is “not going away,” says Adam Berinsky, the Mitsui Professor of Political Science at MIT and director of the MIT Political Experiments Research Lab.
Story by Peter Dizikes, MIT Technology Review
COMPARATIVE MEDIA STUDIES
Novelist Min Jin Lee makes the case for understanding through fiction
At MIT, the author of Pachinko discusses literature as a way to understand others and outsiders in modern culture.
Story at MIT News
SHASS FACULTY
Election Insights 2018: Research-based perspectives from MIT
SHASS faculty members offer research-based commentaries on consequential matters for American culture and democracy.
Commentaries
MIT ELECTION LAB
Are voting machine meltdowns now the norm?
MIT's Charles Stewart III, an expert on election infrastructure and management, says there's no evidence yet that the malfunctions in the 2018 midterms elections were historic.
Story at Wired
PHILOSOPHY
On democracy and civic discourse | Justin Khoo
"In some cases, a well-functioning discursive market — a public forum of diverse views — may require us to respond to certain views with 'discursive intolerance.'"
Commentary | Related: Commentary by Jason Pontin
SCIENCE WRITING + INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
On American gun culture
Tom Levenson "There’s 'a little oval, where both sides agree. That’s the culture of safety.'"
John Tirman "A social movement to challenge gun culture has rocked politics for the first time in a generation."
POLITICAL SCIENCE
Civil servants and morality | Bernardo Zacka
Drawing from experience working among bureaucrats, political theorist Bernardo Zacka reveals the complex moral landscape that civil servants must navigate.
Profile by Leda Zimmerman
Assistant Professor Bernado Zacka; photo by Stuart Darsch
IN MEMORIUM
PHILOSOPHY
Sylvain Bromberger, MIT philosopher of language and science, dies at 94
Bromberger, who played a pivotal role in establishing the MIT Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, is remembered for his enduring contributions to epistemology and for his kindness and intellectual generosity.
Remembrance by Paul Egré and others
GLOBAL STUDIES AND LANGUAGES
Catherine Chvany, Professor emerita of Slavic language and linguistics, dies at 91
Internationally renowned for her works in Slavic poetics and linguistics, Chvany had a central role in advancing the study of Russian at MIT, where she built a warm community and mentored generations of scholars.
Remembrance | Memorial reception on November 18
HONORS + AWARDS
Recent rankings of MIT disciplines by the Times Higher Education group
No.1 worldwide for Economics and Business
For disciplines in the SHASS Department of Economics and in the Sloan School of Management
Story: MIT tops the field
No.2 worldwide for the Arts and Humanities
For disciplines in the MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences and in the MIT School of Architecture and Planning
Story: A leader in the Arts and Humanities
Allan Detsky PhD’78 appointed to the Order of Canada
Desky, an influential physician, professor, and economist, has been appointed to the Order of Canada, one of Canada's highest civilian honors, for his lasting impact on the Canadian health system, including innovative research that informs health policy.
Story at University of Toronto
For all recent awards and recent media coverage visit In the Media.
ON HISTORICAL TRUTH
Stephen Van Evera revisits World War I
On the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI, Stephen Van Evera, the Ford International Professor of Political Science and an expert on the causes of war, traces how WWI — especially chauvinistic mythmaking about its causes — ignited further twentieth-century tragedies.
Interview, Center for International Studies
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Said and Done is 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 15 November 2018