SAID AND DONE

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

 



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"It's the job of our leaders to stand up and challenge unsubstantiated rumors and outright falsehoods. Politicians have tremendous power to lead and to shape information, and voters need to remember this when they head to the polls — in this and every election."

— Adam Berinsky, Mitsui Professor of Political Science


ELECTION 2020 
 


RESEARCH
 




LABOR ECONOMICS | WORK OF THE FUTURE
To protect good jobs, end tax breaks for job-killing technology | Acemoglu et al.
“Favorable taxation of capital leads to excessive automation,” said MIT economist Daron Acemoglu, lead author of a new paper co-authored with MIT graduate student Andrea Manera and Boston University professor of economics Pascual Restrepo. 
Story at Bloomberg | Related: Paper on automation and employment

J-PAL NORTH AMERICA
New center will focus on health care for the aging
The MIT Roybal Center for Translational Research to Improve Health Care for the Aging aims to improve health outcomes for aging adults in the US. The center will work with affiliated researchers to test low-cost, high-impact behavioral interventions.
Story by JPAL, on MIT News

OPEN DOCUMENTARY LAB | COMPARATIVE MEDIA STUDIES
Carla LynDale Bishop, inaugural recipient of MIT and BLK Public Media Fellowship
Hosted by the Open Doc Lab in the Comparative Media Studies/Writing program and sponsored by the Arts at MIT,
Bishop will work on her immersive project, "Mapping Blackness."
Meet Carla LynDale Bishop


CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES | MISTI PROGRAM
MIT deepens connections to the Middle East
The SHASS-based MISTI program launches a new seed fund in Jordan as part of MIT-Arab World program.
Story by MISTI, on MIT News
 


BOOKSHELF
 


 

BOOKSHELF
Works from MIT's humanistic faculty
Browse the Online Bookshelf

CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
Beyond 9/11 | Chappell Lawson 
In a new book, Lawson explores the country’s multifaceted security needs in the 21st century. "The 9/11 terrorist attacks crystallized a particular notion of homeland security," he says. "But that focus on counterterrorism obscured almost everything else," for example, cyber threats, and preventing/addressing deadly pandemics.
Interview by MIT News | Chappell Lawson

HISTORY
Databases, Revenues, and Repertory | Jeffrey Ravel, Anne McCants
Big Data for theater! A new open access essay collection explores the Comédie-Française Registers Project — a groundbreaking initiative in the digital humanities.
About at the MIT Press | Interview with Ravel | Comédie-Française Registers Project

ECONOMICS
Distributed Ledgers | Robert Townsend
Bitcoin is part of a larger family of financial innovations, known as “distributed ledgers,” which allow people to perform financial activities without requiring a central authority. In his new book, Townsend surveys how such financial technologies can help emerging economies and many industries.
Story by MIT News | About at MIT Press | Robert Townsend

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY
India’s culture of coping with cancer | Dwaipayan Banerjee
"A landmark." In his deeply human ethnography of cancer in India, Banerjee examines the psychological and social terrain of living with cancer in a country where the disease has long been downplayed.
Story by Peter Dizikes at MIT News | Dwaipayan Banerjee
 



MEDIA + AWARDS DIGEST
 


MEET OUR STUDENTS
 


 

POLITICAL SCIENCE + MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
A champion of renewable energy and equity
Combining degrees in mechanical engineering and political science, MIT senior Darya Guettler advocates for climate policy, sustainable technologies, and equitable, inclusive processes.
Story by MIT News


GRADUATE PROGRAM IN SCIENCE WRITING
The beauty and complexity of science | Fernanda de Araújo Ferreira
With a newly minted PhD in virology from Harvard, Fernanda de Araújo Ferreira is now focused on contributing to the scientific enterprise through journalism.
Story by the Office of Graduate Education
 



ONGOING EXPLORATIONS

 


SOLVING CLIMATE
 


SOLVING CLIMATE SERIES  
Explore the full series online

FEATURE

Revamped MIT Climate Portal informs and empowers the public
The reconceived website hosts an expanded suite of digital tools and resources to help people make sense of climate change.
MIT Climate Portal | MIT SHASS entries on the Climate Portal
 


MAKING A JUST SOCIETY



 

WEB PORTAL
Explore the Just Society series

FEATURES

UNDARK MAGAZINE | KNIGHT SCIENCE JOURNALISM AT MIT
Head injuries during recent protests point to a systemic issue
The data, amassed by Physicians for Human Rights, shows that actions by police officers caused at least 115 head injuries. Among the group’s recommendations are: banning weapons that release scattershot or multiple projectiles from a single canister (because they can hit people indiscriminately); more training; and adherence to departments’ own rules on the use of such weapons.
Story at Undark

CSAIL + COMPARATIVE MEDIA STUDIES
Examining racial attitudes in virtual spaces through gaming
Computational model developed at MIT builds off of 2019 research examining colorblind racial attitudes through a video game.
Story by CSAIL at MIT News
 


PERSPECTIVES FOR THE PANDEMIC
 



FULL SERIES
Explore the Pandemic Series
 

FEATURES

J-PAL NORTH AMERICA
Research initiative to focus on Covid-19 recovery
The Covid-19 Recovery and Resilience Initiative is catalyzing evidence-based policy solutions to the challenges posed by the pandemic.
Story

J-PAL NORTH AMERICA
How tutoring programs can combat the “Covid-19 slide”
Summarizing results from 96 randomized evaluations, a new publication highlights the sizable impact tutoring programs can have on student learning.
Story

MIT SHASS FACULTY
The Meanings of Masks
In short commentaries, MIT faculty offer new ways to think about, appreciate, and practice protective masking — currently a primary way to contain the Covid-19 pandemic and save lives.
Series by MIT SHASS Communications
 


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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 15 October 2020