School of Humanities Arts and Social Sciences

When Japan met the world

Inspired by a family background with extensive U.S-Japan ties, historian Hiromu Nagahara explores Japan’s cultural links to other societies.

November 20, 2018

Joshua Angrist, co-director of the School Effectiveness and Inequality Initiative and the Ford Professor of Economics at MIT, speaks at this year's MIT School Access and Quality Summit.

Exploring school choice

MIT School Access and Quality Summit brings policymakers, educators, and researchers together to examine strategies and ways to measure effectiveness.

November 20, 2018

Jessy Lin, an MIT senior double-majoring in electrical engineering and computer science and in philosophy.

I think, therefore I code

Senior Jessy Lin, a double major in EECS and philosophy, is programming for social good.

November 15, 2018

“At MIT, we know that solving challenging problems requires the combined knowledge and insight from many fields. The world’s complex issues are not only scientific and technological problems; they are as much human and ethical problems,” says Melissa Nobles, the Kenan Sahin Dean of the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences.

Times Higher Education ranks MIT No.1 in business and economics, No.2 in arts and humanities

Worldwide honors for 2019 span three MIT schools.

November 15, 2018

For his doctoral research exploring the everyday moral lives of workers at an antipoverty agency, Bernardo Zacka didn't just observe and report. He joined as a participant, working as a receptionist at the agency over a period of eight months.

A bottom-up view of the state

Embedded with street-level bureaucrats, political theorist Bernardo Zacka reveals the complex moral landscape civil servants must navigate.

November 14, 2018

MIT Professor Emerita Catherine Vakar Chvany was a renowned Slavic linguist and literature scholar.

Professor Emerita Catherine Chvany, Slavic scholar, dies at 91

Internationally renowned for her works in Slavic poetics and linguistics, Chvany also mentored several generations of scholars.

November 13, 2018

One hundred years ago on Nov. 11, 1918, the Allied Powers and Germany signed an armistice bringing to an end World War I.

3 Questions: Stephen Van Evera revisits World War I

A century after its bitter end, the political science professor calls the Great War a wellspring of the 20th century's horrors and tragedies.

November 8, 2018

T.L. Taylor of MIT’s Comparative Media Studies/Writing program has written a book about the rise of eSports and competitive gaming called “Watch Me Play.”

Inside the world of livestreaming as entertainment

T.L. Taylor looks at how computer gaming and other forms of online broadcasting became big-time spectator sports.

November 7, 2018

Author Min Jin Lee speaking at MIT’s CIS Starr Forum event on Oct. 30

Novelist Min Jin Lee makes the case for understanding through fiction

At MIT event, “Pachinko” author talks about literature as a way of understanding outsiders in modern culture.

November 1, 2018

The 2018 Election Insights series includes: Research-based commentaries by MIT experts on key issues for the country; a "Music for the Midterms" playlist; and an annotated election booklist.

Analyzing the 2018 election: Insights from MIT scholars

SHASS faculty members offer research-based perspectives with commentaries, plus a Music for the Midterms playlist, and an election book list.

October 30, 2018

Volha Charnysh is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science.

The aftermath of violence

Investigating the political and economic consequences of large-scale deadly conflict, Volha Charnysh discovers that community-level interactions make a big impact.

October 24, 2018

"Sylvain made enduring contributions to philosophy and linguistics," said Alex Byrne, head of the MIT Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, "and his colleagues and students were frequent beneficiaries of his kindness and intellectual generosity. He had an amazing life in so many ways, and MIT is all the better for having been a part of it."

Professor Emeritus Sylvain Bromberger, philosopher of language and science, dies at 94

Bromberger played pivotal role in establishing MIT Department of Linguistics and Philosophy.

October 22, 2018

“Even if you look at a clean study, the [outcome] is usually a composite of multiple components, any one of which could be actually causing the effect,” says Associate Professor Teppei Yamamoto.

Refining the “science” of political science

Teppei Yamamoto examines the methods of his discipline, to help scholars nail down cause and effect.

October 21, 2018

Guests speakers at a recent MIT Open Learning AR/VR Symposium were: (clockwise from top left) MIT Professor Fox Harrell; director Shekhar Kapur; Berklee College of Music professor Susan Rogers; sound designer Mark Mangini; Princeton University Professor Edgar Choueiri; and MIT Vice President for Open Learning Sanjay Sarma.

Exploring the future of learning through virtual and augmented reality

At a recent symposium, MIT Open Learning invited experts to discuss the power of VR and AR tools to drive engagement with education.

October 18, 2018

Radha Mastandrea wants to know what the universe is made of.

A passionate advocate for open data

Senior Radha Mastandrea analyzes data from CERN in search of more information about the universe’s fundamental particles.