MAS.962 Autism Theory and Technology (MIT)
This course will lay a foundation in autism theory and autism technology that significantly leverages and expands the Media Lab's ability to pioneer new technology. Students will not only develop new technologies, but also understand, help, and learn from people with autism, a fast-growing group that the CDC identified in the year 2005 as involving an estimated 1 in 150 school-age children ages 6-21. Students will gain an understanding of the basic challenges faced by people diagnosed with autis
Author(s): Breazeal, Cynthia,el Kaliouby, Rana,Picard, Rosali

7.346 Synaptic Plasticity and Memory, from Molecules to Behavior (MIT)
In this course we will discover how innovative technologies combined with profound hypotheses have given rise to our current understanding of neuroscience. We will study both new and classical primary research papers with a focus on the plasticity between synapses in a brain structure called the hippocampus, which is believed to underlie the ability to create and retrieve certain classes of memories. We will discuss the basic electrical properties of neurons and how they fire. We will see how fi
Author(s): Kamsler, Ariel

12.540 Principles of Global Positioning Systems (MIT)
The aim of this course is to introduce the principles of the Global Positioning System and to demonstrate its application to various aspects of Earth Sciences. The specific content of the course depends each year on the interests of the students in the class. In some cases, the class interests are towards the geophysical applications of GPS and we concentrate on high precision (millimeter level) positioning on regional and global scales. In other cases, the interests have been more toward engine
Author(s): Herring, Thomas

17.441 International Politics and Climate Change (MIT)
This course examines the interconnections of international politics and climate change. Beginning with an analysis of the strategic and environmental legacies of the 20th Century, it explores the politicization of the natural environment, the role of science in this process, and the gradual shifts in political concerns to incorporate "nature". Two general thrusts of climate-politics connections are pursued, namely those related to (a) conflict – focusing on threats to security due to envir
Author(s): Choucri, Nazli

12.001 Introduction to Geology (MIT)
This undergraduate level course presents a basic study in geology. It introduces major minerals and rock types, rock-forming processes, and time scales; temperatures, pressures, compositions, structure of the Earth, and measurement techniques; geologic structures and relationships observable in the field; sediment movement and landform development by moving water, wind, and ice; crustal processes and planetary evolution in terms of global plate tectonics with an emphasis on ductile and brittle p
Author(s): Elkins-Tanton, Lindy

HST.939 Designing and Sustaining Technology Innovation for Global Health Practice (MIT)
Innovation in global health practice requires leaders who are trained to think and act like entrepreneurs. Whether at a hospital bedside or in a remote village, global healthcare leaders must understand both the business of running a social venture as well as how to plan for and provide access to life saving medicines and essential health services. Each week, the course features a lecture and skills-based tutorial session led by industry, non-profit foundation, technology, and academic leaders t
Author(s): Blander, Jeffrey,Demirci, Utkan

17.486 Japan and East Asian Security (MIT)
This subject is designed for graduate students interested in international politics, national security and comparative political economy in East Asia. It examines the political, military, and economic challenges facing Japan, its neighbors, and the international system under conditions of great uncertainty. Topics range from the history of once "new" world orders to theories that inform our understanding of international affairs and foreign policy decision-making, as each is related to Japan. We
Author(s): Samuels, Richard J.

21L.007 World Literatures: Travel Writing (MIT)
This semester, we will read writing about travel and place from Columbus's Diario through the present. Travel writing has some special features that will shape both the content and the work for this subject: reflecting the point of view, narrative choices, and style of individuals, it also responds to the pressures of a real world only marginally under their control. Whether the traveler is a curious tourist, the leader of a national expedition, or a starving, half-naked survivor, the encounter
Author(s): Fuller, Mary

4.696 A Global History of Architecture Writing Seminar (MIT)
This course will study the question of Global Architecture from the point of view of producing a set of lectures on that subject. The course will be run in the form of a writing seminar, except that students will be asked to prepare for the final class an hour-long lecture for an undergraduate survey course. During the semester, students will study the debates about where to locate "the global" and do some comparative analysis of various textbooks. The topic of the final lecture will be worked o
Author(s): Jarzombek, Mark

SP.693 Gender, Race, and the Complexities of Science and Technology: A Problem-Based Learning Experi
What can we learn about science and technology–and what can we do with that knowledge? Who are "we" in these questions?–whose knowledge and expertise gets made into public policy, new medicines, topics of cultural and political discourse, science education, and so on? How can expertise and lay knowledge about science and technology be reconciled in a democratic society? How can we make sense of the interactions of living and non-living, humans and non-humans, individual and
Author(s): Taylor, Peter,Fausto-Sterling, Anne

STS.330J History and Anthropology of Medicine and Biology (MIT)
This course explores recent historical and anthropological approaches to the study of life, in both medicine and biology. After grounding our conversation in accounts of natural history and medicine that predate the rise of biology as a discipline, we explore modes of theorizing historical and contemporary bioscience. Drawing on the work of historian William Coleman, we examine the forms, functions, and transformations of biological and medical objects of study. Along the way we treat the histor
Author(s): Jones, David,Helmreich, Stefan

8.21 The Physics of Energy (MIT)
This course is designed to give you the scientific understanding you need to answer questions like: How much energy can we really get from wind? How does a solar photovoltaic work? What is an OTEC (Ocean Thermal Energy Converter) and how does it work? What is the physics behind global warming? What makes engines efficient? How does a nuclear reactor work, and what are the realistic hazards? The course is designed for MIT sophomores, juniors, and seniors who want to unde
Author(s): Jaffe, Robert,Taylor, Washington

SP.718 Special Topics at Edgerton Center: D-Lab Health: Medical Technologies for the Developing Worl
D-Lab Health provides multi-disciplinary approach to global health technology design via guest lectures and a major project based on fieldwork. We will explore the current state of global health challenges and learn how design medical technologies that address those problems. Students may travel to Nicaragua during spring break and work with health professionals, using medical technology design kits to gain field experience for their device challenge. As a final class deliverable, you will creat
Author(s): Jose Gomez-Marquez,Amit Srivastava,Ryan Scott Bard

24.231 Ethics (MIT)
This will be a seminar on classic and contemporary work on central topics in ethics. The first third of the course will focus on metaethics: we will examine the meaning of moral claims and ask whether there is any sense in which moral principles are objectively valid. The second third of the course will focus on normative ethics: what makes our lives worth living, what makes our actions right or wrong, and what do we owe to others? The final third of the course will focus on moral character: wha
Author(s): Markovits, Julia

The competitive advantage and catching-up of nations
At a time when the global economic slowdown is encouraging countries and companies to introduce neo-protectionist policies - including possible moves by the new US President-elect to penalise American firms who relocate jobs outside the US - we should not ignore the efforts of smaller developing countries to catch-up, says Judge Business School's Dr Christos Pitelis.
Author(s): No creator set

11.975 Feeding Cities in the Global South: Challenges and Opportunities for Action in Cartagena (MIT
The purpose of this seminar is to provide a context for understanding the challenges of urban food provisioning from a perspective of sustainability and social inclusion in cities of the global South. The seminar will be specifically geared towards preparing students for direct participation in urban markets and food policy project intervention in Cartagena, Colombia. To learn more about the Cartagena Practicum, visit the class website.
Author(s): Guarín, Alejandro,Blanco, Edgar,Gakenheimer, Ralp

2.58J Radiative Transfer (MIT)
This course investigates the principles of thermal radiation and their applications to engineering heat and photon transfer problems. Topics include quantum and classical models of radiative properties of materials, electromagnetic wave theory for thermal radiation, radiative transfer in absorbing, emitting, and scattering media, and coherent laser radiation. Applications cover laser-material interactions, imaging, infrared instrumentation, global warming, semiconductor manufacturing, combustion
Author(s): Chen, Gang