MIT SHASS: News Archive

Q&A with economic historian Anne McCants
On the link between innovation and opportunity

"Economic history viewed on a very long timescale tells us that innovation and population size/density are highly correlated. A shorter time horizon tells us that population size alone is not enough. Rather, it is in populations where lots of people are both permitted and capable of 'having a go,' where innovation thrives best."

21st C. CITIZENSHIP | SCIENCE COMMUNICATION

Bridging the gap between citizens and scientists

Alumni of the MIT SHASS Graduate Program in Science Writing inform the public about critical issues ranging from medical breakthroughs to climate change.

BASIC RESEARCH

SHASS announces 10 Research Fund recipients for 2018

The SHASS Research Fund supports research in the areas of humanities, arts, and social sciences that shows promise of making an important contribution to the proposed area of activity. The School is pleased to announce ten recipients for 2018.

Robin Wolfe Scheffler awarded 2018 Levitan Prize in the Humanities

Scheffler, the Leo Marx Career Development Professor in the History and Culture of Science and Technology, has been awarded the prestigious award that includes a $30,000 grant that will support his research into the factors that influenced the development of Boston’s booming biotech industry.

21st C. CITIZENSHIP

Connecting through conversation

Whether in Cambridge or Shanghai, MIT senior Joshua Charles Woodard seeks to learn from others’ perspectives and challenge his own.

RESEARCH | 21st C. CITIZENSHIP

Why some Muslim clerics become jihadists

In his new book, political scientist Richard Nielsen proposes a “blocked ambition” hypothesis.

DEMOCRACY | SECURITY

Why we should welcome warnings

At MIT event, experts call for a new approach to worst-case scenarios.

Christopher Capozzola named a Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs fellow

MIT historian one of nine fellows selected by the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs to receive support for research under the project "The Living Legacy of the First World War."

New era for MIT theater opens with Everybody, a morality play for our time

Everybody is a brand-new 2017 play based on the venerable 15th century English morality play, Everyman. As performed last week at MIT, Everybody at once updates a masterwork from the distant past, and represents the future — the great range of new arts opportunities that the new Building W97 is making possible at MIT.

Stefan Helmreich awarded 2017 Staley Prize

“Some people call this the Pulitzer Prize of anthropology. The prize is selected by an anonymous committee of scholars. It's a very competitive process, there are very intense debates, and this book emerged as a unanimous favorite.”

Mens et Manus America examines the rural American economy

Insights from four leaders working to revitalize rural areas

MIT historian Craig Steven Wilder delivers 2017 Capps Lecture

Craig Steven Wilder, Barton L. Weller Professor of History, delivered the prestigious Walter H. Capps Memorial Lecture on Friday, November 3, 2017.

Mens et Manus America examines current U.S. tax reform issues.

MIT professors James Poterba and Michelle Hanlon provide a primer on some key issues and challenges.

Bridging the science-policy divide

For MIT senior Talia Weiss, physics and theater have provided a springboard for new interests in political science.

21ST CENTURY CITIZENSHIP

Probing the behavior of an international bully

Political science doctoral student Ketian Zhang sheds light on China's use of coercion in foreign policy, hoping to span a deep divide.

RESEARCH | 21ST CENTURY CITIZENSHIP

Nuclear and present danger

MIT security experts Vipin Narang, Jim Walsh, and Taylor Fravel discuss how to lower tensions between the U.S. and North Korea.

TEACHING AND LEARNING

MIT-Haiti, Google team up to boost education in Kreyòl

Effort to create STEM lexicon, led by linguistics faculty Michele Degraff, is now available for global translation.

SOCIAL INNOVATION

Course helps girls in Botswana avoid HIV and “sugar daddies”

Youth-to-youth program founded by MIT economist Joshua Angrist teaches girls about the increased odds of contracting HIV from older men.

21ST CENTURY CITIZENSHIP

Connecting through conversation

Whether in Cambridge or Shanghai, MIT senior Joshua Charles Woodard '17 seeks to learn from others’ perspectives and challenge his own.

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

At MIT, author Édouard Louis examines the contexts for violence

The capacity to transform personal suffering into a meditation on the larger wounds society inflicts on the powerless and marginalized defines Louis’ literary voice.

BASIC RESEARCH | 21st CENTURY CITIZENSHIP

Mens et Manus America examines data, technology, and election integrity

Various concerns about the security of U.S. elections have arisen over the past twenty years, some more significant that others. While many studies have shown that voter fraud, for instance, is vanishingly rare in the U.S., what about the state of electoral administration, lost votes, and cyber attacks? On Oct. 16, two experts teamed up at MIT to share insights from their research on what is and isn't working in America's electoral system.

portrait of MIT Professor Shigeru Miyagawa

Q&A with digital learning pioneer Shigeru Miyagawa
On interdisciplinary approaches to digital learning

"The MIT Office of Digital Learning (ODL) is actively reaching out to faculty across MIT to help them leverage digital learning to improve teaching and learning, and I am glad to be contributing to that."

Nancy Rose appointed department head of MIT Economics

Rose is not only a distinguished scholar, but also an accomplished public servant, having served in the US Department of Justice for two and a half years years.

Remembering Thomas Derrah (1953-2017)

Renowned actor and beloved member of MIT Music and Theater Arts dies at 64

Led by Jing Wang, the New Media Action Lab increases the impact of NGOs across China.

The lab bridges the digital gap to improve social welfare for underserved populations in rural and urban China.

CORE

MIT named No. 2 university worldwide for the Arts and Humanities - 2018

At MIT, two schools — the School of Architecture and Planning, and the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences — and several centers are home to the arts and humanities.

PLANETARY HEALTH

Citizen Science and the Wild workshop illuminates the value of multidisciplinary research.

Convened by MIT historian Harriet Ritvo, the workshop drew an unusual variety of MIT experts together, including historians of science, anthropologists, scientists, and museum professionals.

TEACHING AND LEARNING

Two sciences tie the knot

A new major combining computer science and economics will prepare students for designing the virtual marketplaces of the future.

21st C. CITIZENSHIP | BASIC RESEARCH

Making sense of nuclear threats

MIT political scientist Vipin Narang explains the strategies of new nuclear powers. “We’re not talking about Cold War nuclear strategy any more. We’re talking about small states with small arsenals and itchy trigger fingers. It really changes how we think about nuclear risks and nuclear dangers as a result.”

MIT SHASS welcomes Hari Kondabolu to campus

Hari Kondabolu is comic who the New York Times called “one of the most exciting political comics in stand-up today.” This event is sponsored by the MIT SHASS De Florez Fund for Humor.

The Next Act for MIT Theater

A warehouse at 345 Vassar Street has been converted into an ingenious 25,000-square-foot performing arts building for MIT and its flourishing Theater Arts program. The flexible space can accommodate diverse forms of stagecraft, productions, and new theater technologies.

TEACHING AND LEARNING

Increasing equity through educational technology

CMS/W Assistant Professor Justin Reich looks to transform educational settings by equipping teachers with the technology tools they need to best serve all students.

TEACHING AND LEARNING

Political science debuts on MITx

“Democracy and Development: Perspectives from Africa” is the first MIT Political Science class produced exclusively for edX, the multi-university online education platform.

John Durant plans a new era for the MIT Museum

Bridging science, technology, the arts, humanities, and the social sciences MIT Museum Director John Durant makes plans to engage the public with a new purpose-driven museum space.

ARTS INNOVATION

"Imagination Off The Charts" debuts at MIT

A new documentary film, "Imagination Off the Charts: Jacob Collier Comes to MIT," highlights a Grammy-winning musician’s innovative relationship with MIT. The film debuts on Friday, Sept 8, Room 10-250, 7pm.

INNOVATION

Play Labs announces first class of VR/AR/playful startups and demo session

First accelerator program on the MIT campus will showcase 12 startups across a mix of gaming, virtual reality, esports, and augmented reality technologies.

TEACHING AND LEARNING

In search of a meaningful life

Popular MIT anthropology course offers contemplation and dialogue on life's big questions.

SOCIAL INNOVATION

How J-PAL thinks globally and acts locally

Can an antipoverty program work in different settings? A new report presents a user’s guide to a tough issue.

RESEARCH TO POLICY | CITIZENSHIP

J-PAL North America partners with local governments to tackle homelessness and reduce incarceration

Selected cities and counties will receive funding and technical support from J-PAL to test innovative strategies in the fight against poverty.

RESEARCH TO POLICY | CITIZENSHIP

Investigating the trap of unemployment

MIT Economics PhD student Aicha Ben Dhia studies France’s labor market from the perspective of local job-seekers.

HEALTH OF THE PLANET

Bolstering public support for state-level renewable energy policies

Analysis shows the design and framing of renewable energy policies can strengthen public support — or opposition.

RESEARCH TO POLICY

A simple solution for terrible traffic

Cities plagued with terrible traffic problems may be overlooking a simple, low-cost solution: High-occupancy vehicle (HOV) policies that encourage carpooling can reduce traffic drastically, according to a new study co-authored by MIT economists.

TEACHING AND LEARNING

Preschoolers learn from math games — to a point

Games found to improve conceptual math skills, but gains may not carry over to primary school.

HUMAN HEALTH

Hospitals that spend more on emergency care yield better outcomes

A study co-authored by MIT economists finds that investing more in inpatient care relative to longer-term nursing facilities reduces mortality rates.

TEACHING AND LEARNING

Practicum: Directing Einstein's Dreams

Neerja Aggarwal, SB ’17, MEng ’18, discusses the rewards and challenges of directing Einstein's Dreams, an adaptation of the acclaimed novel by MIT faculty member and author, Alan Lightman.

TEACHING AND LEARNING

MIT Chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Society inducts 74 graduates of the Class of 2017

The Phi Beta Kappa Society, the nation’s oldest academic honor society, this year admitted 74 graduating seniors into the MIT chapter, Xi of Massachusetts.

BASIC RESEARCH

Song of the Human: A musical work inspired by Shigeru Miyagawa's research

New work by composer Pete M. Wyer draws inspiration from MIT linguistic scholar Shigeru Miyagawa's hypothesis on the origins of human language: "Human speech can be quite musical — there's pitch, rhythm, tone and dynamics — and if one removes words, what's left is the song of the human, and it's remarkably similar to birdsong."

Starr Forum
Security, Privacy, and the Internet

Discussion will consider government agencies and tradeoffs across security-civil liberties; firms like Google and Facebook and tradeoffs across functionality/utility of information enabled features and privacy; as well as some hacker related discussion.

ART + TECH INNOVATION

Gamma Sonification: MIT students make music from particle energy

Midway through Keeril Makan's “Introduction to Composition” class, three MIT nuclear engineering students had invented a technique to sonify, or create sound, from the energy of the decaying atom.

21ST CENTURY CITIZENSHIP

At MIT, Arlie Hochschild discusses U.S. political divisions and finding common ground

The event centered on Hochschild's most recent book, Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right (The New Press, September 2016).

Andreas Wiedemann receives Horowitz Foundation grant

Wiedemann is a Ph.D. candidate in Political Science, and studies political economy and comparative politics with a focus on rich democracies.

ARTS INNOVATION

Seeking Big Answers: What is Art?

PhD student Rebecca Millsop uses philosophy to take on contentious questions about how we define art. The starting point of her quest came from an unlikely place: biology.

SOCIAL INNOVATION

Building empathy through computer science and art

CSAIL PhD student Danielle Olson creates immersive media to help users understand each other’s backgrounds and feelings.

TEACHING AND LEARNING | SOCIAL INNOVATION

Breaking down walls between the ivory tower and prison

The MIT Prison Initiative provides an academic framework for undergraduates and local inmates to explore the human condition.

TEACHING AND LEARNING

"Mens et manus" goes global

MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives program will send students to six continents this summer.

TEACHING AND LEARNING

Testing the metrics

MIT researchers refine yardstick for measuring schools and teachers.

TEACHING AND LEARNING

Entering the animal world

In a history seminar, engineering students explore shifting ideas about animal intelligence and human uses of animals throughout the ages.

TEACHING AND LEARNING

In search of a meaningful life

Popular MIT anthropology course offers contemplation and dialogue on life's big questions.

BASIC RESEARCH

Nine MIT-SHASS Research Fund recipients announced for 2017

The SHASS Research Fund supports research in the areas of humanities, arts, and social sciences that shows promise of making an important contribution to the proposed area of activity. The School is pleased to announce nine recipients for 2017.

A.R."Pete" Gurney, Jr., acclaimed playwright, author, and longtime MIT SHASS professor, dies at 86.

An MIT SHASS humanities and literature faculty member for 36 years, Gurney was known as an outstanding teacher and inspiring mentor.

21ST CENTURY CITIZENSHIP

Breaking through gridlock: productive conversations in a polarized world

A Mens et Manus America conversation with Jason Jay. "We have to have conversations if we are going to effect change," said Jay, who outlined findings from his new book. "We change larger conversations by changing one conversation at a time."

21ST CENTURY CITIZENSHIP

Race and Racism in the 2016 Election

Slate chief political correspondent Jamelle Bouie joins MIT’s Seth Mnookin to explore how race and ethnicity framed the election.

21ST CENTURY CITIZENSHIP

Mens et Manus America examines the politics of misinformation

Exploring current U.S. social, political, and economic challenges: Professor Adam J. Berinsky joined Professor Ezra Zuckerman Sivan to share political science and sociological research about the impact of rumors and falsehoods on America's political process. Agustín Rayo, associate dean of the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences moderated.

SHASS opens call for 2017 Levitan Teaching Award nominations

A quick email is all it takes to nominate your favorite SHASS instructor, TA, or professor.

David Pesetsky honored by MIT Linguistics alums and colleagues

More than 100 faculty colleagues, current and former students, and guests gathered at the Stata Center on February 11, 2017 for a daylong linguistics workshop organized as a tribute to the research and teaching of MIT linguist David Pesetsky. Attendees came from as far away as Korea, Russia, and Turkey to honor Pesetsky, the Ferrari P. Ward Professor of Modern Languages and Linguistics and head of MIT's Department of Linguistics and Philosophy.

Junot Díaz inducted into American Academy of Arts and Letters

The American Academy of Arts and Letters has announced the names of 14 new inductees, including Junot Díaz, a Pulitizer prize-winning author, and the Rudge and Nancy Allen Professor of Writing at MIT.

Alan Lightman receives inaugural Humanism in Literature Award

The Humanist Hub names Lightman its first ever awardee for Humanism through Literature.

Q&A with historian/engineer David Mindell
On human-centered robotics and innovation

“The new frontier is learning how to design the relationships between people, robots, and infrastructure...The new success of robots will depend on how well they situate into human environments; as in chess, the strongest players are often the combinations of human and machine. I increasingly see that the three critical elements are people, robots, and infrastructure — all interdependent."

Q&A with political theorist John Tirman
On immigration, collaboration, and the hidden costs of war

"It is remarkable that we do not measure the costs of war in any meaningful way. The costs come in many shapes and sizes: mortality and disability, loss of livelihoods and homes, displacement, the destruction of clean water resources and sanitation facilities, the disruption of education for children, ecological devastation, and many others. All wars produce these results, yet no country, including the United States, has the will to understand and calculate these costs."

Catherine Clark receives Mellon Fellowship

Catherine Clark has received the Mellon Fellowship for Assistant Professors at the Institute for Advanced Study, for 2017–2018.

SOCIAL INNOVATION

Walley and Boebel receive $195k NEH grant for the Exit Zero Project

Christine Walley, Professor of Anthropology, and MIT-based filmmaker Chris Boebel have been awarded a $195,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to support the digitization of archives and the Exit Zero Project website.

HEALTH ECONOMICS

Testing their patients

MIT researchers have found that Medicaid recipients are 20 percent more likely to wait more than 20 minutes to begin a scheduled appointment, compared to privately insured patients.

21ST CENTURY CITIZENSHIP

Michael Lee: "The Conservative Canon Before and After Trump"

In this April 28 CMS/W podcast, Michael J. Lee charts the vital role of canonical post–World War II (1945–1964) books in generating, guiding, and sustaining conservatism as a political force in the United States.

2017 SHASS Levitan Teaching Awards announced

Dean Nobles has announced the recipients of the 2017 James A. and Ruth Levitan Awards for Excellence in Teaching. Warmest congratulations to these nine educators and colleagues, who represent the very best academic leadership in the School.

HEALTH OF THE PLANET

Environmentalist and explorer

Senior Elizabeth Rider uses atmospheric chemistry research to create international connections.

21ST CENTURY CITIZENSHIP

Being Muslim in America and at MIT

MIT alum and students explored how discriminatory rhetoric influences public opinion and its impact on the daily lives of Muslim-Americans.

21ST CENTURY CITIZENSHIP

Brexit, Europe, and Trump: John Whitaker "Jack" Straw, Former Foreign Secretary, U.K.

Video of a Starr Forum panel discussion held on April 6, 2017, sponsored by the MIT SHASS Center for International Studies

21ST CENTURY CITIZENSHIP

Senator Sanders Addresses MIT: Presidential Election and the Political Process

In MIT speech, Senator Sanders contends future of U.S. politics "must be progressive."

MIT Day of Action and Engagement

SOCIAL INNOVATION: RESEARCH TO POLICY

Meet MIT's experts in Asian Security

MIT's Asian Security Studies faculty train the next generation of scholars and security policy analysts; counsel national security officials in the U.S. and abroad; and inform policy through publications and frequent contributions to public debates.

Writing for a Wider Audience | April 25, 5:30pm

Video from an event with distinguished publishing professionals who discussed ways to shape academic scholarship into general literature. The panelists include leading literary agents, non-fiction trade book editors, a magazine editor, and an op-ed editor. Event sponsored by the Office of the Dean, MIT SHASS, and Kneerim & Williams, a literary agency with offices in Boston and New York.

21ST CENTURY CITIZENSHIP

Racing to the Precipice: Global Climate, Political Climate

Video of a Starr Forum panel discussion held on March 23, 2017, sponsored by the MIT SHASS Center for International Studies

21ST CENTURY CITIZENSHIP

Uniting through Voice and Song

On the evening of November 17, 2016 faculty, staff, and students came together to affirm the enduring values that unite the MIT community.

BASIC RESEARCH

What we're doing when we try to live our lives well

Philosopher Tamar Schapiro studies how we blend reason and emotion while refining our adult selves.

SOCIAL INNOVATION | HUMAN HEALTH | CITIZENSHIP

Government leaders gather at MIT to advance evidence-based policymaking

State and local policymakers joined with leading researchers to share experiences overcoming challenges to evaluating government programs.

SOCIAL INNOVATION | HUMAN HEALTH

Measuring "diagnostic intensity"

New study maps U.S. regions where patients appear more ill than they are.

21ST CENTURY CITIZENSHIP

Mens et Manus America initiative launches with documentary film event

200 students and faculty attend kickoff event as SHASS and Sloan begin a non-partisan, research-based exploration of current U.S. social, political, economic challenges.

CORE

Vivek Bald awarded the 2017 Levitan Prize in the Humanities and a Whiting Public Engagement Fellowship

Associate Professor Vivek Bald of Comparative Media Studies/Writing has been awarded the 2017 Levitan Prize in the Humanities, a $30,000 research grant that will support his work on a film and a website documenting South Asian Muslims who immigrated to the United States during the 1890s-1940s, a period in which Asians were excluded from the country by law. Bald has also received a Whiting Public Engagement Fellowship award for work on the same project.

THE POWER OF HISTORY

3 Questions with historian Malick Ghachen
On finding root causes: how history helps us solve today's issues

"One of the principal ways historians contribute to problem-solving work at MIT and elsewhere is by helping to identify what the real problem is in the first place. When we understand and articulate the roots and sources of a problem, we have a much better chance of actually solving it."

News Archive 2017