Said and Done
Summer 2019
MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
QUOTABLE
"Master two fundamental ways of thinking about the world, one technical and one humanistic. Sometimes these two modes will be at odds with each other, which raises critical questions. Other times they will be synergistic and energizing."
— Professor David Mindell, Historian, Engineer; co-founder and CEO of Humatics Corporation
BEING MULTI-DISCIPLINARY AT MIT
"The efficacy and success of medical advances must always be evaluated within a larger social context," says Reddy. Culturally-aware approaches lead to more effective medical interventions.
Profile by MIT Anthropology
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PhD student Steven Gonzalez studies Cloud communities
In his research, Gonzalez shows that the Cloud is a massive system, ubiquitous in daily life, that contains huge amounts of energy, has the potential for environmental disaster, and is operated by an insular community in a high-stress environment.
Profile by SHASS Communications
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HUMANITIES + NATURAL SCIENCE + SOCIAL SCIENCE
MIT Phi Beta Kappa Society chapter inducts 76 students
In addition to success in technical studies, the new members of Xi of Massachusetts, the MIT chapter of PBK, combine the best of humanities, natural science, and social science scholarship. Only 10 percent of higher education institutions have chapters of PBK, the nation's oldest honor society, and fewer than 10 percent of students at those institutions are selected for membership.
Story by SHASS Communications
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MATHEMATICS + HISTORY
Clare Kim studies the intersection of math with the arts and humanities
Doctoral student Kim studies the history of mathematical thought and how it has impacted other fields in U.S. intellectual life, in particular how mathematicians have interacted with artists, humanists, and philosophers.
Profile at MIT News
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HISTORY + ENGINEERING
Professor David Mindell on a dual competence education
"As an engineer and historian, I’ve been 'bilingual' my entire career," says Professor Mindell, who is also the co-founder and CEO of Humatics Corporation. "Dual competence is a good model for undergraduates at MIT as well."
Interview by SHASS Communications
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ECONOMICS + PSYCHOLOGY + PHYSICS
Behavioral economist Pierre-Luc Vautrey explores poverty and development
With a background in physics, PhD student Vautrey finds economics "a really nice way to bridge science with social science and humans in general." He is developing more realistic models of human economic behavior — taking into account that, in daily life, rationality is not always the sole basis for economic decision-making.
Story at MIT News
RECENT MEDIA COVERAGE + AWARDS
RESEARCH + NEW WORKS
COMPARATIVE MEDIA STUDIES | CO-CREATION STUDIO
Studio launches with first major analysis of collective media creation
The Co-Creation Studio at MIT Open Documentary Lab publishes a first of its kind study of the media industry: Collective Wisdom: Co-Creating Media within Communities, across Disciplines and with Algorithms.
Story | Video Trailer | Executive Summary | About at the MacArthur Foundation
MUSIC COMPOSITION
Debut of "Branches" | Peter Child
"Branches," Child's suite for recorders — tenor, alto, soprano, and sopranino — in five movements, was first performed at the opening of Lina Viste Grønli’s exhibition "Nye skulpturer" in Norway.
Listen on Soundcloud | Child Website
LABOR ECONOMICS AND AI
AI and the Future of Labor | Daron Acemoglu
Recent technological change has been biased towards automation, with insufficient focus on creating new tasks where labor can be productively employed.... [T]his might mean missing out on the promise of AI with better economic and social outcomes."
Paper: National Bureau of Economic Research | Acemoglu Webpage
ALLEVIATING THE CLIMATE CRISIS
Climate MIT | Economic, Cultural, and Political dimensions of the Climate Crisis
The ClimateMIT website is a major source of research, innovation, and discussion on climate issues — and a global community of people leading research and action for planetary health across all fields. The faculty in MIT's School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences contribute to planetary health by informing policy, educating leading science communicators, and addressing the economic, social, and political dimensions of climate change and related environmental challenges.
Join us! MIT SHASS Profile | Climate MIT website
Climate-related classes from MIT's humanistic fields
Free course materials from 20+ climate-related classes from MIT's political science, economics, philosophy, history, writing, and anthropology fields are available on the OpenCourseWare website.
Gallery
BOOKSHELF | RECENT BOOKS + NEW WORKS
COMPUTING AND AI | DESIGNING A NEW COLLEGE
Working Group: Social Implications and Responsibilities of Computing
The SCoC working group co-led by Dean Melissa Nobles and Julie Shah, Associate Professor of Aero-Astro, focused on the opportunity MIT has to help solve many of the world’s critical social, ethical, and policy issues by infusing consideration of these issues into the new college curriculum, research, and development of computing technologies.
Interview
Ethics, Computing, and AI | Perspectives from MIT
20 Faculty, all 5 MIT Schools: In Conversation Pieces, MIT faculty sound some common themes, including the vision of an MIT culture in which all of us are equipped to discern the ethical and social implications of new research and technologies.
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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 9 July 2019
Photography
Ankita Reddy: photo by Andy Levine
Steven Gonzalez: photo by Jon Sachs
Clare Kim: photo by Jared Charney
David Mindell: photo by Len Rosenstein
Pierre-Luc Vautrey: photo by Jake Belcher