17.871 Political Science Laboratory (MIT)
This course introduces students to the conduct of political research using quantitative methodologies. The methods are examined in the context of specific political research activities like public opinion surveys, voting behavior, Congressional behavior, comparisons of political processes in different countries, and the evaluation of public policies. Students participate in joint class projects and conduct individual projects.
17.THT Thesis Research Design Seminar (MIT)
This seminar is for students who plan to write a senior thesis in Political Science, and is required of all MIT Political Science majors. Seminar participants will develop their research topics, review relevant research and scholarship, frame their research questions and arguments, choose an appropriate methodology for analysis, draft the introductory and methodology sections of their theses, and write a complete prospectus of the project.
21H.433 The Age of Reason: Europe in the 18th and 19th Centuries (MIT)
Has there ever been an "Age of Reason?" In the western tradition, one might make claims for various moments during Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance. In this class, however, we will focus on the two and a half centuries between 1600 and 1850, a period when insights first developed in the natural sciences and mathematics were seized upon by social theorists, institutional reformers and political revolutionaries who sought to change themselves and the society in which they lived. Thr
6.884 Complex Digital Systems (MIT)
This course is offered to graduates and is a project-oriented course to teach new methodologies for designing multi-million-gate CMOS VLSI chips using high-level synthesis tools in conjunction with standard commercial EDA tools. The emphasis is on modular and robust designs, reusable modules, correctness by construction, architectural exploration, and meeting the area, timing, and power constraints within standard cell and FPGA frameworks.
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
21F.034 Media Education and the Marketplace (MIT)
This instance of "Media, Education, and the Marketplace" focuses on the rise of information and communications technologies (ICTs) during the age of globalization, specifically examining its effect and potential in developing nations across the world. In particular, the class will focus on the following three components:
"Media" – ICTs, specifically the dramatic rise in use of the Internet over the past twenty years, have "globalized" the world and created opportunities where very few h
14.12 Economic Applications of Game Theory (MIT)
Game Theory is a misnomer for Multiperson Decision Theory, the analysis of situations in which payoffs to agents depend on the behavior of other agents. It involves the analysis of conflict, cooperation, and (tacit) communication. Game theory has applications in several fields, such as economics, politics, law, biology, and computer science. In this course, I will introduce the basic tools of game theoretic analysis. In the process, I will outline some of the many applications of game theory, pr
17.261 Congress and the American Political System II (MIT)
This course analyzes the development of the United States Congress by focusing on the competing theoretical lenses through which legislatures have been studied. In particular, it compares sociological and economic models of legislative behavior, applying those models to floor decision-making, committee behavior, political parties, relations with other branches of the Federal government, and elections. Graduate students are expected to pursue the subject in greater depth through reading and indiv
21L.706 Studies in Film (MIT)
This course investigates relationships between two media, film and literature, studying works linked across the two media by genre, topic, and style. It aims to sharpen appreciation of major works of cinema and of literary narrative. The course explores how artworks challenge and cross cultural, political and aesthetic boundaries. It includes some attention to theory of narrative. Films to be studied include works by Akira Kurosawa, John Ford, Francis Ford Coppolla, Clint Eastwood, Orson Welles,
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
21F.740 The New Spain: 1977-Present (MIT)
This course deals with the vast changes in Spanish social, political, and cultural life that have taken place since the death of Franco. It examines the new freedom from censorship; the re-emergence of strong movements for regional autonomy: the Basque region and Catalonia; the new cinema including Almodóvar and Saura; educational reforms instituted by the socialist government, and the fiction of Carme Riera and Terenci Moix. Special emphasis is placed on the emergence of mass media as a
11.489 The Growth and Spatial Structure of Cities (MIT)
This course examines the economic, political, social, and spatial dynamics of urban growth and decline in cities and their key component areas (downtown, suburbs, etc.). Topics include impacts of industrialization, technology, politics, and social practices on cities. Students will examine the role of public and private sector activities, ranging from zoning and subsidies to infrastructure development and real estate investment, in affecting urban growth and decline. Readings are both theoretica
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
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
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
21H.101 American History to 1865 (MIT)
This course focuses on a basic history of American social, economic, and political development from the colonial period through the Civil War. The colonial heritages of Spanish and British America; the American Revolution and its impact; the establishment and growth of the new nation; and the Civil War, its background, character, and impact are examined. Readings include writings of the period by Winthrop, Paine, Jefferson, Madison, W. H. Garrison, G. Fitzhugh, H. B. Stowe, and Lincoln.
17.01J Justice (MIT)
This course explores three fundamental questions about the ideal of a just society and the place of values of liberty and equality in such a society. Answers to the questions provided by three contemporary theories of justice: Utilitarianism, Libertarianism, and Egalitarian Liberalism will be examined. To assess the strengths and weaknesses of these theories, a discussion of their implications for some topics of ongoing moral-political controversy will also be covered.
17.317 U.S. Social Policy (MIT)
This subject examines the historical development and contemporary politics of social policy in the United States. We will discuss the kinds of risks individuals face over a lifetime and why some are ameliorated by social policy while others are not (and how the U.S. is similar or different from other countries in this regard). We will examine the policymaking process in the U.S., why some alternatives are implemented and others abandoned, why some interests are privileged over others, and how th
17.951 Special Graduate Topic in Political Science: Political Behavior (MIT)
This graduate seminar provides an examination of mass and elite political behavior in the United States, with an emphasis on political participation, political inequality, elections, voting behavior, and political organizations.
4.144 Architectural Design, Level II: New Orleans Studio (MIT)
The project for this studio is to design a demonstration project for a site near the French Quarter in New Orleans. The objectives of the project are the following:
To design more intense housing, community, educational and commercial facilities in four to six story buildings.
To explore the "space between" buildings as a way of designing and shaping objects.
To design at three scales - dwelling, cluster and overall.
To design dwellings where the owners may be able to help build and













