SUMMER 2023
MIT SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES, ARTS, AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
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RECENT WORKS AND RESEARCH
Enrico Nawrath. Courtesy of the Bayreuther Festival.
A high-tech take on Wagner's "Parsifal" opera
Director and MIT Professor Jay Scheib’s production, at the Bayreuth Festival in Germany, features an apocalyptic theme and augmented reality headsets for the audience.
Story at MIT News | Associated Press coverage
A new vision for US health care
In her latest book, “We’ve Got You Covered,” Amy Finkelstein prescribes a complete overhaul of our health insurance system.
Story at MIT News | New York Times op-ed
The "forgotten peace" of World War l
One hundred years after the Treaty of Lausanne, a look back shows its shortcomings for Armenians — and others.
Story at MIT News
Study: Microtargeting works, just not the way people think
In politics, tailored ads make sense, but with real limits to the tailoring.
Story at MIT News
A voyage through history
“Lines Drawn across the Globe,” a new book by MIT Professor Mary Fuller, looks at the worldwide vision of English exploration proponent Richard Hakluyt.
Story at MIT News
Helen Elaine Lee, a professor in MIT’s Comparative Media Studies/Writing program.
Q&A: A conversation with Helen Elaine Lee about her novel, "Pomegranate"
The MIT professor’s new book explores the world of a woman set free from prison and redefining herself in society.
Story at MIT News | Video
Study finds ChatGPT boosts worker productivity for some writing tasks
A new report by MIT researchers highlights the potential of generative AI to help workers with certain writing assignments.
Story at MIT News | Forbes coverage
3 Questions: Justin Reich on the state of teacher speech in America
A new podcast series from MIT’s Teaching Systems Lab explores the laws and cultural divisions presenting new challenges for educators.
Story at MIT News | Listen to the podcast
Studying how children learn words with no meaning
Project leaders at the MIT Language Acquisition Lab say their research could shed new light on the nature of language learning.
Story at SHASS News
MIT political scientist Mai Hassan. Photo by Gretchen Ertl.
Why social movements must innovate
On-the-ground study of Sudan shows how protestors have kept their tactics evolving in the face of oppressive rulers.
Story at MIT News
How an "AI-tocracy" emerges
In China, the use of AI-driven facial recognition helps the regime repress dissent while enhancing the technology, researchers report.
Story at MIT News
Using social media to raise awareness of women's resources
An experiment in Egypt suggests ways to spread information for women facing domestic violence.
Story at MIT News
GRADUATE STUDIES
PhD candidate Lisa Ho '17. Photo by Adam Glanzman.
ECONOMICS
Changing attitudes about jobs and gender in India
PhD candidate Lisa Ho ’17 studies barriers that limit women’s participation in the labor force.
Story at MIT News
LINGUISTICS
On a mission to uplift others and save the endangered Marma language
For Rani Ukhengching Marma from Bangladesh, protecting the Indigenous language also means preserving her culture, traditional knowledge, and generational wisdom.
Story at MIT News
MUSIC TECH AT THE VOXEL LAB
Music Technology at MIT blends creativity, engineering, and musical practice. The Voxel Lab gives students a space to build entirely new ways of making sound or hack existing methods in novel ways. The result is an inspiring, multidisciplinary environment where students can combine their interests into anything their creative side can imagine, and their engineering side can build.
IN THE CLASSROOM
Associate Professor of Philosophy Justin Khoo. Photo by Jon Sachs
PHILOSOPHY
The philosophical side of cinema
MIT students examine movies, art, and ethics from both the producer and audience perspectives.
Story at MIT News
GRADUATE PROGRAM IN SCIENCE WRITING
Through documentary filmmaking, science writing graduate students build storytelling skills
GPSW students produce short-form documentaries exploring topics in science.
Story at SHASS News
POLITICAL SCIENCE
GDL summer internship program gives promising political science students a chance to shine
Global Diversity Lab interns reflect a greater range of political science talent and potential
Story at MIT Political Science
AWARDS AND HONORS
MIT Professor Ben Schneider. Photo by Gretchen Ertl.
Support outside the comfort zone
MIT professor Ben Schneider honored as Committed to Caring for acting as a "bedrock of compassion"
Story at MIT News
Undark's "Long Division" project wins first place at the National Association of Black Journalists awards
Investigative reporting project, which examined the fraught legacy of race science, wins in the feature category for online publications.
Read more about "Long Division"
MIT economist Stephen Morris elected to the British Academy
Morris is among the class of 86 Fellows elected this year.
Story at SHASS News
Envisioning the future of computing
Offered for the first time this year, the Institute-wide competition invited MIT undergraduate and graduate students to share their ideas, aspirations, and vision for what they think a future propelled by advancements in computing holds.
Story at MIT News
Arina Khotimsky ’23. Photo by Lisa Hickler.
Arina Khotimsky '23 awarded the Michel David-Weill Scholarship
Khotimsky graduated from MIT with a major in materials science and engineering, and minors in energy studies and in French.
Story at MIT News
MIT Chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Society inducts 101 students from the Class of 2023
Graduating seniors honored for their excellence in the liberal arts.
Story at MIT News
Professor Joshua Bennett wins the 2023 Paterson Poetry Prize
“Joshua Bennett’s book, The Study of Human Life, captures the extraordinary in ordinary lives, and explores black experiences and relationships. This book is brilliant and moving."
Story at MIT Literature
2023 History Undergraduate Writing Prize winners
The History faculty announced the winners of the History Undergraduate Writing Prizes, honoring excellence in historical research and writing.
Story at MIT History
David Autor named NOMIS 2023 Distinguished Scientist
NOMIS Foundation honors the Ford Professor of Economics for his contributions to understanding the effects of technological change and globalization on jobs and earnings prospects for workers.
Story at MIT News
NEW ASSOCIATE DEAN OF SHASS
Keeril Makan named associate dean of MIT's School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
Makan will lead special projects in his new role, while continuing to serve as head of the Music and Theater Arts Section.
Story at MIT News
GLOBAL IMPACT
A member of J-PAL South Asia's research team interviews a construction worker for a survey in Jagatpur, Cuttack district, India.
Twenty years of improving lives through evidence
The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) opened its doors in 2003. Anchored by a network of more than 750 researchers at universities around the world, J-PAL conducts randomized evaluations to answer critical questions in the fight against poverty.
Learn more about the work of J-PAL
Powering the future in Mongolia
Through coursework, intercollegiate collaboration, and a site visit, MIT students fuse engineering and anthropology to propose innovative energy solutions.
Story at MIT News
3 Questions: International collaborations in a shifting geopolitical climate
Professor Fotini Christia, director of the MIT Sociotechnical Systems Research Center and chair of the International Advisory Committee, reflects on the committee’s work.
Story at MIT News
SHASS ALUMNI
Parmesh Shahani SM ’05. Courtesy Slice of MIT.
Author of "Queeristan" spreads vision of inclusion
Parmesh Shahani SM ’05 is a prolific author, culture curator, and LGBTQ+ activist. Breaking boundaries is his brand, and it began at MIT.
Story at Slice of MIT
Infusing science in public policymaking
Tina Bahadori ’84, SM ’88, studied the chemistry of turbulent diffusion flames and wrote a thesis on Les Liaisons Dangereuses as a double major in chemical engineering and humanities.
Story at Slice of MIT
Andrea Lo '21 draws on ecological lessons for life, work, and education
With a minor in literature and environmental sustainability, the biology alumna considers perspectives from Charles Darwin to Annie Dillard.
Story at MIT News
Alumni, we'd like to hear from you! How has your SHASS education shaped your life and career path? We'd love to hear what you're working on and share your story. Reach out to brindley@mit.edu.
Published by SHASS Communications
Office of the Dean, MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
Aug. 9, 2023
Michael Brindley, Director of Communications