Said and Done
June 2020
MIT SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES, ARTS, AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
QUOTABLE
"It's a unique time to be a black director," says Charlotte Brathwaite, a member of the MIT theater faculty, noting that in searching for ways to articulate her response to today's culture of violence she has been hugely inspired by James Baldwin's message of universal love. "He says: ‘If I love you, I have to make you conscious of the things you do not see.'"
MAKING A JUST SOCIETY
"The Gospel According to James Baldwin;" co-created and directed by Charlotte Brathwaite; image
WEB PORTAL
Making a Just Society
An online collection of resources including: works from the MIT-SHASS faculty (research, books, and creative works, courses, commentaries, and reading lists); also links to offices, groups, and opportunities across the Institute; and to local and national organizations dedicated to making a fair, just, and livable society. Suggestions for additional content for this ongoing resource are welcome. Explore the Resources
FEATURED RESOURCE
On criminal justice reform | Malick Ghachem
"While many minority voters are deeply concerned about criminal justice issues, they are also invested in the direction of education, housing, employment, foreign, and other policies. And therein lies an important point about criminal justice reform itself: Inequalities in the distribution of both crime and punishment are likely to persist as long as inequalities in these other spheres of life continue to be seen as acceptable or inevitable costs of the free-market system."
Commentary | Related: Race, Crime, and Citizenship in American Law (21H.319)
A SALUTE TO THE CLASS OF 2020
Visions for the Future
35 of the many outstanding MIT 2020 students who excel in humanistic and in scientific/technological fields reflect on their MIT education — and their visions for the future. Voices of MIT Seniors, Class of 2020
Salute to the 2020 advanced degree recipients | Esther Duflo
Duflo, a 2019 Nobel laureate in economics and co-founder of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab at MIT, encourages the new Masters and PhD recipients to "Pick your issue, and go for it with all your heart, all your mind, and all your knowledge." Story
Meet the MIT Bilinguals
Profiles of MIT students who focus intensely on humanistic and on scientific/technological fields. Featuring Class of 2020 graduates and students from earlier years. View the Gallery
INSIDE THE CLASSROOM
PROGRAM IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY
The Social Life of Data
"Data and Society," a new class taught by professors Eden Medina and Sarah Williams, engages MIT students in the ethics and societal implications of data. The class is part of the Computing & Society Concentration.
MIT MUSIC
Beethoven, Quarantined
During the Spring 2020 pandemic lockdown, MIT music professor Evan Ziporyn transformed his Symphony Orchestra class (21M.421) into a remote, online learning experience at lightning speed. Absent such all-important essentials as a space — and the physical presence of other musicians — Ziporyn and 40 undergraduates, now scattered across several countries, found new ways to make their music come alive. Video
RESEARCH AND NEW WORKS
ECONOMICS
A three-part series on the effects of robots and automation on employment based on new research from economist and Institute Professor Daron Acemoglu:
How many jobs do robots really replace? Story
Study finds stronger links between automation and inequality. Story
Robots help some firms, even while workers across industries struggle. Story
MIT ELECTION LAB
14 urgent recommendations to make the 2020 elections safe and secure
Recommendations | Related: NPR on Voting by Mail, with MIT's Charles Stewart III
PHILOSOPHY
"Five Questions" with Other Philosophers | Kieran Setiya
In separate episdoes, Setiya asks philosophers David Velleman, Susan Wolf, Richard Moran, Béatrice Longuenesse, Zena Hitz, and Scott Shapiro five questions about themselves. Episodes
LITERATURE
On the literary roots of many technological innovations | Sandy Alexandre
In 2019, Alexandre was awarded a prestigious Bose Research Grant, which supports her study of the under-explored phenomenon of ideas that first appear in speculative fiction becoming technological and social reality. Interview
HISTORY
Contesting the Iranian Revolution | Pouya Alimagham
In his new book, historian Alimagham harnesses the wider history of Iran and the Middle East to highlight how activists contested the Islamic Republic's legitimacy to its very core.
Excerpt | Alimagham webpage
DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
J-PAL launches Jobs and Opportunity Initiative
The initiative aims to answer pressing questions facing policymakers, employers, and job seekers, focusing on three areas: job training and matching, job creation, and the future of jobs. Learn more
SOLVING CLIMATE | HUMANISTIC PERSPECTIVES FROM MIT
FULL SERIES
Solving Climate
In this ongoing series, MIT humanistic faculty, students, and alumni share perspectives that are significant for solving climate change and mitigating its myriad social and ecological impacts.
Explore the series
SERIES FEATURE
The significance of civic opinion | Parrish Bergquist '19
Bergquist's work, at the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, "focuses on identifying the levers for influencing policy, engaging people in policy change, and designing effective climate policies."
Commentary
RESEARCH + PERSPECTIVES FOR THE PANDEMIC | VOTING 
FULL SERIES
Research + Perspectives for the Pandemic
Works from the MIT SHASS community that inform policy, increase public understanding, and provide contemplative space and uplift.
FEATURED ENTRY
Recommendations | Related: NPR Vote-by-Mail coverage, with MIT's Charles Stewart
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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 17 June 2020