9.66J Computational Cognitive Science (MIT)
This course is an introduction to computational theories of human cognition. Drawing on formal models from classic and contemporary artificial intelligence, students will explore fundamental issues in human knowledge representation, inductive learning and reasoning. What are the forms that our knowledge of the world takes? What are the inductive principles that allow us to acquire new knowledge from the interaction of prior knowledge with observed data? What kinds of data must be available to hu
17.407 Chinese Foreign Policy (MIT)
This lecture course provides students with a comprehensive introduction to the international relations of the People’s Republic of China. China’s foreign relations during the Cold War as well as contemporary diplomatic, security and economic issues will be examined to identify and explain China’s foreign policy goals and their implementation since 1949. Throughout, this course will investigate the sources of conflict and cooperation in China’s behavior, assessing competin
Black Holes
This is a really good video that explains Stephen Hawking's theory on Black Holes. The video provides several relateable examples of concepts discussed in the the theory. The video also provides viewpoints from other experts as well.  Â
ESD.801 Leadership Development (MIT)
This seminar meets six times during the semester. Students work in a seminar environment to develop leadership capabilities. An initial Outward Bound experience builds trust, teamwork and communications. Readings and assignments emphasize the characteristics of great leadership. Global leaders participate in the "Leadership Lunch" series to share their experiences and recommendations. Discussions explore leadership development. The learning experience culminates in a personal leadership plan.
STS.005 Disease and Society in America (MIT)
This course examines the growing importance of medicine in culture, economics and politics. It uses an historical approach to examine the changing patterns of disease, the causes of morbidity and mortality, the evolution of medical theory and practice, the development of hospitals and the medical profession, the rise of the biomedical research industry, and the ethics of health care in America.
21H.927J The Economic History of Work and Family (MIT)
This course will explore the relation of women and men in both pre-industrial and modern societies to the changing map of public and private (household) work spaces, examining how that map affected their opportunities for both productive activity and the consumption of goods and leisure. The reproductive strategies of women, either in conjunction with or in opposition to their families, will be the third major theme of the course. We will consider how a place and an ideal of the "domestic&q
21F.084J Introduction to Latin American Studies (MIT)
This course is designed as an introduction to Latin American politics and society for undergraduates at MIT. No background on the region is required. Overall workload (reading, writing, class participation, and examinations) is similar to that of other HASS-D courses. Many of the themes raised here are covered in greater detail in other courses: 21F.020J (New World Literature), 21F.716 (Introduction to Contemporary Hispanic Literature), 21F.730 (Twentieth and Twentyfirst-Century Spanish American
24.221 Metaphysics (MIT)
This course focuses on the study of basic metaphysical issues concerning existence, the mind-body problem, personal identity, and causation plus its implications for freedom. The course explores classical as well as contemporary readings.
21H.346 France 1660-1815: Enlightenment, Revolution, Napoleon (MIT)
A century and a half ago, Alexis de Tocqueville argued that the Revolution of 1789 in France constituted the culmination of long-term administrative and social changes, rather than a rupture with the past. In this class, we will consider that Tocquevillian insight by examining four aspects of French experience from the reign of the Sun King, Louis XIV, to the rule of the Emperor Napoléon Bonaparte: Absolutism, Enlightenment, Revolution, and Empire. Through the study of primary and secondary sou
21F.067J Cultural Performances of Asia (MIT)
This course examines cultural performances of Asia, including both traditional and contemporary forms, in a variety of genres. Students will explore the communicative power of performances with attention to the ways performers, media, cultural settings, and audiences interact. The representation of cultural difference is considered and how it is altered through processes of globalization. Performances are viewed live when possible, but the course also relies on video, audio, and online materials
21W.735 Writing and Reading the Essay (MIT)
This is a course focused on the literary genre of the essay, that wide-ranging, elastic, and currently very popular form that attracts not only nonfiction writers but also fiction writers, poets, scientists, physicians, and others to write in the form, and readers of every stripe to read it. Some say we are living in era in which the essay is enjoying a renaissance; certainly essays, both short and long, are at present easier to get published than are short stories or novels, and essays are feat
12.103 Strange Bedfellows: Science and Environmental Policy (MIT)
12.103 explores the role of scientific knowledge, discovery, method, and argument in environmental policymaking from both idealistic and realistic perspectives. The course will use case studies of science-intensive environmental controversies to study how science was used and abused in the policymaking process. Case studies include: global warming, biodiversity loss, and nuclear waste disposal siting. Subject includes intensive practice in the writing and presentation of "position statements" on
21L.015 Introduction to Media Studies (MIT)
Introduction to Media Studies is designed for students who have grown up in a rapidly changing global multimedia environment and want to become more literate and critical consumers and producers of media. Through an interdisciplinary comparative and historical lens, the course defines "media" broadly as including oral, print, performance, photographic, broadcast, cinematic, and digital cultural forms and practices. The course looks at the nature of mediated communication, the functions of media,
17.199J Working in a Global Economy (MIT)
The course introduces the main debates about the "new" global economy and their implications for practice and policy. Experts from academia and business will share their findings about, and direct experiences with, different aspects of globalization.
21A.245J Power: Interpersonal, Organizational and Global Dimensions (MIT)
Using examples from anthropology and sociology alongside classical and contemporary social theory, this course explores the nature of dominant and subordinate relationships, types of legitimate authority, and practices of resistance. The course also examines how we are influenced in subtle ways by the people around us, who makes controlling decisions in the family, how people get ahead at work, and whether democracies, in fact, reflect the "will of the people."
16.358J System Safety (MIT)
This course covers important concepts and techniques in designing and operating safety-critical systems. Topics covered include: the nature of risk, formal accident and human error models, causes of accidents, fundamental concepts of system safety engineering, system and software hazard analysis, designing for safety, fault tolerance, safety issues in the design of human-machine interaction, verification of safety, creating a safety culture, and management of safety-critical projects. It also in
24.00 Problems of Philosophy (MIT)
The course has two main goals: First, to give you a sense of what philosophers think about and why. This will be done through consideration of some perennial philosophical problems, e.g., the existence of God, reason and faith, personal identity and immortality, freewill, moral responsibility, and standards for moral conduct. We will draw on readings by important figures in the history of philosophy as well as contemporary authors. The second goal is to develop your philosophical skills, and you
HST.510 Genomics, Computing, Economics, and Society (MIT)
This course will focus on understanding aspects of modern technology displaying exponential growth curves and the impact on global quality of life through a weekly updated class project integrating knowledge and providing practical tools for political and business decision-making concerning new aspects of bioengineering, personalized medicine, genetically modified organisms, and stem cells. Interplays of economic, ethical, ecological, and biophysical modeling will be explored through multi-disci
21A.217 Anthropology of War and Peace (MIT)
This class has been reorganized to focus primarily on the War in Iraq. As in previous years, the class still examines war in cross-cultural perspective, asking whether war is intrinsic to human nature, what causes war, how particular cultural experiences of war differ, and how war has affected American culture.
21L.701 Literary Interpretation: Beyond the Limits of the Lyric (MIT)
In this seminar we'll read individual poems closely within a set of questions about the moral and political position of poetry -- and of intellectuals -- in different cultural contexts. Of course, part of the divergence in the social positions of poetry [and of 'the aesthetic'] depends on the dominant paradigm of the social, political and literary culture; part of the divergence derives from the momentum of literary development in the culture [how did the culture experience modernism?, for insta
