Said and Done
APRIL 2020
MIT SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES, ARTS, AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
"Will the November 2020 election be delayed? The answer is, 'no.' There is no statutory or constitutional authority to do that. Even if the asteroids are raining on our heads on November 3, we will be voting."
— Charles Stewart III, Kenan Sahin Distinguished Professor of Political Science; Head, the MIT Election Data and Science Lab
RESEARCH
Voting by mail: Currently, five states — Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah, and Washington — conduct elections almost entirely by mail. Twenty-eight others and the District of Columbia allow voters to cast absentee ballots by mail without providing a reason; photo by Lindsey Wasson/Reuters
MIT ELECTION LAB
Ten recommendations for a healthy, trustworthy 2020 election | Charles Stewart
The country can meet this challenge if Americans begin to prepare immediately."
Commentary at Lawfare
3Q: Making the November elections safe and secure | Charles Stewart
"Despite the risks, mail balloting should be expanded. If decisions are made now, states can spend the next six months getting the logistical ducks in a row to make this happen successfully."
HEALTHCARE | TELEHEALTH
3Q: A doctor’s view from the front lines | Jeffrey E. Harris
Harris, a practicing physician and an MIT economist, shares insights on the pandemic and the vital role of telehealth.
POLITICAL SCIENCE | SECURITY STUDIES
3Q: Fotini Christia on new deal-making in Afghanistan
MIT professor of political science discusses a new U.S.-Taliban agreement and whether it will bring peace to the Afghan people. Story by CIS
ECONOMICS
Covid-19 Working Papers
MIT Economics has collected all the faculty's pandemic-related working papers on one page: subjects include the ethics of ventilator rationing schemes; the geography of Covid-19 growth in the U.S.; and the macroeconomic implications of Covid-19, among others.
RESEARCH + PERSPECTIVES FOR THE PANDEMIC
from the MIT SHASS community
Navigating an Unprecedented Time
At this new web portal you will find research and commentary from the MIT SHASS faculty and community to inform policy and increase public understanding of the complex pandemic landscape. Content areas include impacts of the pandemic on healthcare, the economy, education, the 2020 elections, daily life, and democracy. There is also a channel with music and other creative works that offer contemplative space, meaning, and uplift.
Explore the site
Research and Perspectives for the Pandemic
Media Publications | Healthcare | Economic Impacts | Education | Election 2020
The Arts | Civic Perspectives | Daily Life | Elective Affinities | MIT Resources
Charlotte Minsky '20, photo by Maria Iacobo
HISTORY + PLANETARY SCIENCE
At MIT, Minsky followed her passion for history and planetary science
Minsky says studying history alongside planetary science enables her to see the mutually-informing relationships between scientific work, history, and society. Studying science has made her a better historian, she says, and studying history has made her a better scientist.
REMEMBRANCE | KEN KENISTON, 1930-2020
Founder, MIT Program in Science, Technology, and Society 
Photo courtesy of Suzanne Berger, Institute Professor
His presence among us was transformative
A founder and pillar of MIT’s Program in Science, Technology, and Society (STS), "Ken Keniston played a major role in encouraging MIT to ask new questions that have significantly broadened the Institute's educational mission." Remembrance by Rosalind Williams, Bern Dibner Professor of the History of Science and Technology, emerita.
A Tribute and a History
THE ONLINE CLASSROOM
Student in the MIT Concourse program; photo by Jon Sachs, MIT SHASS Communications
COMPARATIVE MEDIA STUDIES
The biggest distance-learning experiment in history | Justin Reich
Reich, CMS/W Assistant Professor, online learning researcher, and director of the MIT Teaching Systems Lab, reflects on best practices for remote learning, via NPR's "All Things Considered."
HISTORY + MIT CONCOURSE
Faculty Reflection | Anne McCants
In a series of ongoing notes, Anne McCants, MIT Professor of History and Director of the MIT Concourse Program, provides insight and candid perspective for her students and others during this time of pandemic.
SHASS DIGITAL LEARNING FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM
Rolling out remote learning at MIT | Meghan Perdue
Perdue, an MIT SHASS Digital Learning Fellow, played a key role in catalyzing MIT’s plans to shift to online teaching in response to the pandemic.
ANTHROPOLOGY
Faculty Reflection | Manduhai Buyandelger
Buyandelger tracks racism, virtual realities, and world-building during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Office of the Dean, MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
Editor and Designer: Emily Hiestand
Publication Associate: Alison Lanier
Published 16 April 2020