School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

An MIT course called Reading Climate Through Media examines the media’s portrayal of global warming and the human stories that underlie this worldwide issue.

Attacking climate change, one human story at a time

An MIT course arms students with rhetorical weaponry to fight global warming.

April 16, 2020

"Will the November 2020 election be delayed? The answer is, 'no.'" says Charles Stewart III, Kenan Sahin Distinguished Professor of Political Science, and co-founder, MIT Election Data and Science Lab. "Even if the asteroids are raining on our heads and the zombies are roaming the streets on November 3, we will be voting."

3 Questions: Charles Stewart on the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on the 2020 elections

Head of the MIT Election Data and Science Lab discusses the greatest risks, voting by mail, zombies, and asteroids.

April 15, 2020

2020 John Simon Guggenheim Foundation Fellows include (left to right) Sabine Iatridou, professor of linguistics; Jonathan Gruber, professor of economics; and Rebecca Saxe, professor of cognitive neuroscience.

Three from MIT awarded 2020 Guggenheim Fellowships

MIT professors Sabine Iatridou, Jonathan Gruber, and Rebecca Saxe have been selected to pursue their work “under the freest possible conditions.”

April 14, 2020

"Health care in [community health centers] has been turned upside down by the coronavirus pandemic," says Jeffrey Harris, physician and MIT economist. "Patients with chronic conditions are being dissuaded from coming in. Instead, telehealth service has become the new form of care."

3 Questions: Jeffrey Harris on the evolution of health care during the Covid-19 pandemic

Physician and MIT economist provides insights into health care during the pandemic, and how electronic or “telehealth” service has become the new form of care.

April 8, 2020

In the new all-remote education landscape, strong connections between teachers and learners are more critical than ever.

3 Questions: J-WEL leaders on retooling education during a global crisis

MIT Abdul Latif Jameel World Education Lab executive director Vijay Kumar and faculty advisor Eric Klopfer discuss remote learning responses to Covid-19.

April 6, 2020

Fotini Christia is professor of political science at MIT. Her research interests explore issues of conflict and cooperation in the Muslim world.

3 Questions: Fotini Christia on new deal-making in Afghanistan

MIT professor of political science discusses a new U.S.-Taliban agreement and whether it will bring peace to the Afghan people.

April 2, 2020

Census Day is April 1, but the government strongly encourages online responses, which can be submitted until Aug. 14 under a revised schedule.

The 2020 U.S. census: Time to make it count

Amid disruptions caused by the Covid-19 outbreak, the MIT community has an important role to play in the 2020 census.

March 31, 2020

Teams pitch business solutions and present proof-of-concept prototypes at an MIT Entrepreneurship and Maker Skills Integrator showcase.

Making MIT entrepreneurship matter in Hong Kong

MIT students collaborate with Hong Kong peers to solve urban challenges through the MIT Hong Kong Innovation Node.

March 30, 2020

As MIT classes resume today, online, faculty and the hundreds of staff who helped implement remote learning at MIT can pause briefly and catch their collective breath. “None of us have ever done this before, so we will navigate together,” says Dean for Digital Learning Krishna Rajagopal.

Rolling out remote learning

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, MIT enters a new mode for teaching and learning.

March 29, 2020

Clockwise from top left: Pamela Ren Larson, Dennis Wagner, Michael Squires, and Thomas Hawthorne have been honored with the Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT's Victor K. McElheny Award.

Arizona wildfire series wins Knight Science Journalism’s Victor K. McElheny Award

Judges praise “Ahead of the Fire” for taking a local issue and showing “why it was relevant to everyone in the country.”

March 27, 2020

Throughout her undergraduate studies in Course 2-OE, MIT senior Michelle Kornberg has had opportunities to work on technologies in Boston Harbor and the Charles River.

Understanding the impact of climate change on the ocean

MIT senior Michelle Kornberg uses her background in mechanical and ocean engineering to track how climate change has impacted underwater environments.

March 23, 2020

“For decades, health economists have been searching to find the holy grail of a natural experiment to tell us what would happen if people couldn’t sue for malpractice,” says economist and MIT professor Jonathan Gruber.

Moving beyond “defensive medicine”

Study shows removing liability concerns slightly increases C-section procedures during childbirth.

March 11, 2020

Milo Phillips-Brown (left) and Marion Boulicault are part of a team working on transforming technology ethics education at MIT.

3 Questions: Marion Boulicault and Milo Phillips-Brown on ethics in a technical curriculum

Philosophers are part of a team working on transforming technology ethics education at MIT.

March 11, 2020

A study co-authored by MIT economists links the fall in the percentage of gross domestic product going to workers to the gain in market share of large companies that spend more on capital and less on workers.

Why are workers getting smaller pieces of the pie?

Market concentration in the form of “superstar” firms has been lowering labor’s share of GDP in recent decades, a new study finds.

March 10, 2020

David Singer, an MIT professor and head of the Department of Political Science, is the co-author of a new book, “Banks on the Brink: Global Capital, Securities Markets, and the Political Roots of Financial Crises,” published by Cambridge University Press.

Why do banking crises occur?

In a new book, political scientist David Singer finds two key factors connected to financial-sector collapses around the globe.