Anthropology

Beyond the hyper-rational debates of "jobs vs. environment" — and based on her own family heritage and home territory — MIT anthropologist Amy Moran-Thomas illuminates "the cultural underpinnings that have allowed anti-science propaganda to gain traction in America and continue in the face of mounting evidence."

Associate Professor Amy Moran-Thomas receives the 2020 Levitan Prize in the Humanities

The award will support the MIT anthropologist's research on the cultural dimensions of climate denialism.

April 24, 2020

Susan Silbey, the Leon and Anne Goldberg Professor of Humanities, Sociology and Anthropology, and Professor of Behavioral and Policy Sciences at the Sloan School of Management, delivering the 48th Annual James R. Killian, Jr. Faculty Achievement Award Lecture at MIT on Tuesday, February 11, 2020.

Understanding law in everyday life

Susan Silbey, a pioneer in studying popular attitudes toward the legal system, discussed her research while giving MIT’s annual Killian Lecture.

February 13, 2020

Jeanne Guillemin was described by The New York Times as a “scientific sleuth” and the Washington Post as a “pioneering researcher” in obituaries that lauded her groundbreaking work in biological warfare — a field where men had long outnumbered their female colleagues.

Jeanne Guillemin, biological warfare expert and senior advisor at MIT, dies at 76

A sought-after analyst on the use of biological weapons, she was a model of interdisciplinary excellence to all — especially women.

January 7, 2020

Jose Gomez-Marquez holding an open glucometer prototype at MIT Little Devices Lab

A closer look at the diabetes disaster

In a new book, Amy Moran-Thomas examines how diabetes is reaching epidemic levels in countries across the world.

December 17, 2019

“MIT is the best place to be an anthropologist studying issues of science and technology," says Timothy Loh, a sophomore in the HASTS PhD program. "It’s a place where we’re able to think deeply and critically about how scientific knowledge and authority is constructed."

Uncovering the role of technology and medicine in deaf and signing worlds

Timothy Loh, a HASTS program doctoral student studying deafness, sign language, and technology, is a sociocultural and medical anthropologist-in-training.

December 5, 2019

"What does it mean," Aidinoff asks "when civil rights become about access to computers and the internet? When lack of internet access is considered a form of poverty? These questions were getting under my skin," he says. "I wanted to know how social and economic policy were tied to changing ideas about technology."

PhD student Marc Aidinoff explores how technology impacts public policy

Historian's research focuses on understanding how visions for social and economic policy are tied to changing ideas about technology.

November 18, 2019

Prathima Muniyappa (with camera) and other class members examining a student demo. In studying various ambiguous images and works, students discover how emotional content and prior experiences contribute to what we think we see.

The technology of enchantment

In a new anthropology and studio art course, MIT students investigate the human dimensions of interacting with technologies.

November 7, 2019

Computing and artificial intelligence: Humanistic perspectives from MIT

How the humanities, arts, and social science fields can help shape the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing — and benefit from advanced computing.

September 24, 2019

MIT engineering students display the frescoes and mosaics that they created at the Caetani Castle in Sermoneta, Italy.

A new lens into the past

Summer program in civil and environmental engineering examines the intersection of modern engineering and cultural heritage.

September 19, 2019

High-resolution mapping of the distribution of elements in a sample from the 2,000-year-old Temple Scroll, as shown by the colors at the right of this image, is providing insight into the scroll's ancient fabrication methods.

How to make a book last for millennia

Study of Dead Sea Scroll sheds light on a lost ancient parchment-making technology.

September 6, 2019

When rats work to protect human safety

PhD student Jia Hui Lee studies global differences in how humans relate to other animals, including rats that detect land mines.

September 5, 2019

"The efficacy and success of medical advances must always be evaluated within a larger social context,” says Ankita Reddy ’19, who aims to be a physician-anthropologist. “In order to do the most good for individual patients and to slow the spread of disease, our interventions need to take into consideration the public health capacity of communities as well as local ideas of health and sickne...

Ankita Reddy ’19 blends anthropology and biology to improve public health

Recent graduate says culturally-aware approaches lead to more-effective medical interventions.

July 3, 2019

Susan Silbey earns faculty’s prestigious Killian Award

Innovative sociologist of law granted MIT’s highest faculty honor.

May 15, 2019

"This historic gathering brought leaders and stakeholders in anthropological knowledge-sharing into the same room to compare notes,” said Heather Paxson, the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Anthropology, and interim head of Anthropology at MIT. “We emerged with the outline of a pilot project to move scholarly journals to Open Access publishing, at a disciplinary scale."

Q&A: Heather Paxson on a new model for open-access publishing in anthropology

Interim head of MIT Anthropology explains the plan's vision and challenges, plus progress made at an historic MIT workshop.

May 10, 2019

Professor Susan Silbey provided a rousing defense of the humanities during her lightning talk at the 2019 MacVicar Day symposium.

Celebrating passionate teachers and enthusiastic learners

At this year's MacVicar Day symposium, faculty and students reflect on the challenges and joys of education in the 21st century.

March 29, 2019

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