Said and Done

July 2020
MIT SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES, ARTS, AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

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"In this pandemic era, what a mask really says is, ‘I care about you.’ This is a powerful message to champion and commend. Today, the mask is a badge of honor — indicating that you are protecting the health of others during a crisis."

— Eric Klopfer, Head, MIT Comparative Media Studies/Writing


RESEARCH


LABOR ECONOMICS
The urban job escalator has stopped moving | David Autor
New study shows cities have stopped providing middle-class work in recent decades — and that Black and Latino workers are particularly affected by this decline.
Story by Peter Dizikes at MIT News | PDF of the Paper

ECONOMICS
Does deep, early investment in automation result in more jobs? | Daron Acemoglu
Studies by economists at MIT, and in London and Germany, reveal more nuances of the relationship between automation/tech investment, jobs, and economic equality.
Story | Acemoglu webpage

ETHICS AND COMPUTING
A responsible path to computing advances | David Kaiser and Julie Shah
Kaiser and Shah, associate deans of the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing, are leading the initiative to embed the social and ethical dimensions of computing into the new college.
Story at Spectrum magazine
 


FEATURE | THE MEANINGS OF MASKS


Photo by Miki Jourdan, Flickr
 

ANTHROPOLOGY
A collective cry for justice | Graham M. Jones
"Writing 'I can’t breathe' on their masks, protestors enact a symbolic connection between two crises," the current coronavirus pandemic and the systemic racism that has long afflicted the U.S. "Such protest masks are a creative, expressive way of subsuming one’s voice within a collective cry for justice.Commentary | Jones webpage

COMPARATIVE MEDIA STUDIES
A badge of honor | Eric Klopfer
“During a pandemic, the mask is a badge of honor, indicating that you are protecting the health of others during a crisis."  Commentary | Klopfer webpage
 



MEDIA + AWARDS DIGEST
 


BOOKSHELF


 

HUMANISTIC MIT
Bookshelf Online
New knowledge and analysis; innovation and insight; guidance for policy and nourishment for lives.
Browse the Bookshelf

LINGUISTICS
The Mental Life of Modernism | Samuel Jay Keyser
Drawing on cognitive science and the humanities, Professor emeritus Keyser shows "how the traditional sources of aesthetic pleasure...gave way to abstraction and puzzle-solving." (MIT Press, 2020) About

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY
Enduring Cancer: Life, Death, and Diagnosis in Delhi | Dwaipayan Banerjee
Banerjee explores the efforts of Delhi's urban poor to create a livable life with cancer. (Duke University Press, August 2020)  Read the introduction | Banerjee webpage

HISTORY
In the Manner of the Franks | Eric Goldberg
Tracing the history of early medieval hunting from the late Roman Empire to the death of the last Carolingian king in 987, Goldberg focuses on the changing role that hunting played in articulating status. (UPenn Press, August 2020)  About | Goldberg webpage
 


INSIDE THE CLASSROOM
A window on the world of music technology at MIT

MUSIC TECHNOLOGY
Video: Final Projects for 21M.383 | Computational Music Theory & Analysis
Students in Associate Professor Michael Cuthbert's new course describe their final projects. Wow!
Video on YouTube | About MIT Music Technology
 


 

ONGOING EXPLORATIONS

 


MAKING A JUST SOCIETY


"The Gospel According to James Baldwin;" co-created and directed by Charlotte Brathwaite; image


WEB PORTAL
MIT Humanistic Resources for a Just Society
Explore the Collection


FEATURES
Policing in America and Beyond
Moderated by Dean Melissa Nobles, experts discuss a range of underlying issues with policing, and the importance of trusted, effective, resilient police organizations.  Video

America's Civil-Military Crisis
Experts discuss the shifting nature of the civil-military relationship in this country and its impact on America’s role in the world.  Video | Event Transcript

What is Race? | Philosopher Sally Haslanger
For all we speak about race, do we know what race is? Most fundamentally, is race real? Haslanger argues that gender and race are not purely "natural categories," they are also "social constructs."
3Q interview with Sally Haslanger | Book
 


SOLVING CLIMATE


FULL SERIES
Humanistic perspectives from MIT SHASS faculty, students, and alumni
Explore the series



FEATURE
An agenda for climate change research | J-PAL North America
Poverty and climate change issues are closely related. In this commentary you'll find a overview of J-PAL North America's contributions to the evidence base in environment, energy, and climate and a look at its agenda for further climate research. Commentary
 


RESEARCH + PERSPECTIVES FOR THE PANDEMIC


Metaphors for a pandemic, including "waves," influence how a society judges scientific knowledge. 

FULL SERIES
Research + Perspectives for the Pandemic
Explore the Series


FEATURES
The Shape of Epidemics
MIT Anthropologist
Stefan Helmreich and David S. Jones, of Harvard, discuss waves, fires, and other metaphors for the Covid pandemic. "The language that scientists use — their metaphors and rhetoric — influence how members of society at large judge and implement scientific knowledge."

3 Questions: Heather Hendershot on media coverage of the pandemic
MIT professor and comparative media expert discusses the stark differences in pandemic reporting and coverage across U.S. media platforms. | Heather Hendershot

MIT and Stanford team up for healthy 2020 elections
The Stanford-MIT Project on a Healthy Election brings experts together to help ensure the 2020 election can proceed with integrity, safety, and equal access.
Healthy Elections Website | MIT Election Lab | Charles Stewart III on the 2020 Elections
 


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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 8 July 2020