SHASS News

Research from the ground up
When Sonya Atalay conducted her doctoral research, she studied pottery in Çatalhöyük, a remarkable ancient site in Turkey. It’s one of the world’s earliest known urban settlements, flourishing by at least 7000 B.C.E. Yet even as Atalay was conducting field research and writing her doctoral thesis, she was scrutinizing standard archaeological practices, believing the discipline to […]
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A plan to preserve wetlands without stopping development
Balancing economic growth and environmental protection is not easy. Consider wetlands, which provide flood protection, aid water quality, and are linchpins of larger ecosystems. How can we best preserve wetlands while enhancing economic activity? According to a new study, one solution involves supplanting traditional conservation mandates, which require replacing affected wetlands locally, with tradeable offsets. […]
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Video: What was the highlight of your time at MIT?
From Vermont ski trips to traveling to India for dissertation field work.
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School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences 2026 Advanced Degree Ceremony
Master’s and doctoral degrees across multiple SHASS graduate programs were conferred during the ceremony.
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Place-based pathways to a viable future
Aiming to transition away from fossil fuels and avert the worst consequences of climate change, world leaders aspire to achieve net zero global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and cap global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius. But actions to meet such targets and minimize adverse impacts on lives, livelihoods, and infrastructure are not one-size-fits-all; they […]
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