Education | Research + Perspectives for the Pandemic
PANDEMIC
Webinar Series | History of Now: Plagues & Pandemics
In the spring of 2020, as people around the world confronted the daily reality of the Covid-19 pandemic, many wondered how previous generations navigated similar crises. At MIT, an interdisciplinary team of humanistic faculty explored this question in a course that broke ground as a live, free MIT class, held in an open public webinar format so that anyone who wanted to attend could do so, from anywhere in the world.
IN THE CLASSROOM | PANDEMIC
For the pandemic, MIT History opens a course to the public via a free, live webinar format.
Hundreds from around the world responded to the opportunity and joined MIT students in the weekly class, "History of Now: Plagues and Pandemic." The experimental webinar format also greatly expanded the scope of expertise available to students, bringing in speakers from fields ranging from microbial biology to economics.
MEDIA AND THE PANDEMIC
Professors Heather Hendershot and Marah Gubar discuss CNN/Sesame Street Town Halls for children on the pandemic, racism
"I'm interested in thinking about the town halls as media events and, more specifically, as political media events. Cable news is so polarized right now, and when you deal with kids and anything with political dimensions, it’s sort of inherently a hot potato situation."
EDUCATION + DAILY LIFE
Faculty Reflections | Anne McCants, Professor of History
An ongoing series of notes from the Director of the MIT Concourse Program for her students and others during the pandemic
EDUCATION | THE ARTS
Partiing advice from MIT historian Eric Goldberg to the students in his Vikings class
Based on the advice from Odin in the Old Norse poem Hávamál (Sayings of the High One)
THE ARTS | EDUCATION
"An Index for the Time Being" | Poetry by Jia Hui Lee
In 21W.771 (Writing Poetry Workshop), taught by acclaimed poet Erica Funkhouser, Lee creates a work for this moment of isolation.
EDUCATION
The biggest distance-learning experiment in history
On NPR's All Things Considered, Justin Reich, CMS/W Assistant Professor, and director of the MIT Teaching Systems Lab reflects on best practices for remote learning. Plus a link to collection of all Reich's recent public commentaries.
MEET THE MIT BILINGUALS
Claudia Chen ’20 | Comparative Media Studies + MechE
“As a MechE student, I think about technical solutions to our world’s biggest problems. As a CMS student, I think about the effects and implications these technical solutions have on our society and our media ecosystems."
EDUCATION
Rolling out remote learning at MIT
MIT News — Meghan Perdue, MIT-SHASS digital learning fellow, catalyzes MIT’s plans to shift to online teaching in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
EDUCATION
MIT Libraries | Resources during the Pandemic
All MIT Libraries (including 24-hour spaces and book drops) are closed until further notice, but will continue to provide resources, services, and consulting online.
DAILY LIFE | EDUCATION
When the coronavirus pandemic drove life online
On NBC News, MIT Professor Sherry Turkle discusses how the pandemic is inspiring people and groups around the world to use the internet in new and creative ways to connect: "The move online could end up changing what it means to be online," she says.
EDUCATION
An ethnology of disruptions in Cambridge, MA
At American Ethnologist, MIT anthropologist Manduhai Buyandelger tracks racism, virtual realities, and world building in Cambridge during the Covid-19 pandemic