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
21L.707 Writing Early American Lives: Gender, Race, Nation, Faith (MIT)
This course focuses on the period between roughly 1550-1850. American ideas of race had taken on a certain shape by the middle of the nineteenth century, consolidated by legislation, economics, and the institution of chattel slavery. But both race and identity meant very different things three hundred years earlier, both in their dictionary definitions and in their social consequences. How did people constitute their identities in early America, and how did they speak about these identities? Tex
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
11.952 Gaoming Studio - China (MIT)
The studio will focus on the district of Gaoming, located in the northwest of the Pearl River Delta (PRD) - the fastest growing and most productive region of China. The District has recently completed a planning effort in which several design institutes and a Hong Kong planning firm prepared ideas for a new central area near the river. The class will complement these efforts by focusing on planning and design options on the waterfront of the proposed new district and ways of integrating water/hy
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.
6.972 Algebraic Techniques and Semidefinite Optimization (MIT)
This research-oriented course will focus on algebraic and computational techniques for optimization problems involving polynomial equations and inequalities with particular emphasis on the connections with semidefinite optimization. The course will develop in a parallel fashion several algebraic and numerical approaches to polynomial systems, with a view towards methods that simultaneously incorporate both elements. We will study both the complex and real cases, developing techniques of general
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.
15.783J Product Design and Development (MIT)
Product Design and Development is a project-based course that covers modern tools and methods for product design and development. The cornerstone is a project in which teams of management, engineering, and industrial design students conceive, design and prototype a physical product. Class sessions are conducted in workshop mode and employ cases and hands-on exercises to reinforce the key ideas. Topics include identifying customer needs, concept generation, product architecture, industrial design
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.
SP.246 Current Events and Social Issues (MIT)
The goal of this seminar is to have open discussions of controversial political and social issues and raise awareness of current world events in an informal setting. Discussions for the first part of each class will focus on current events from that week, while in the second part of class students will discuss a scheduled issue in greater detail. Scheduled issues include the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the regulation of marijuana, how our society should punish criminals, genocide in Rwanda and
STS.042J Einstein, Oppenheimer, Feynman: Physics in the 20th Century (MIT)
This class explores the changing roles of physics and physicists during the 20th century. Topics range from relativity theory and quantum mechanics to high-energy physics and cosmology. The course also examines the development of modern physics within shifting institutional, cultural, and political contexts, such as physics in Imperial Britain, Nazi Germany, U.S. efforts during World War II, and physicists' roles during the Cold War.
24.01 Classics in Western Philosophy (MIT)
This course will introduce you to the Western philosophical tradition, through the study of major figures such as Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Hume, and Kant. You will get to grips with questions that have been significant to philosophy from its beginnings: questions about the nature of the mind or soul, the existence of God, the foundations of knowledge, ethics and the good life. In the process of evaluating the arguments of these philosophers, you will develop your own philosophical and analyt
