The Politics of Homosexuality - February 18, 2010
On the topic of homosexuality, Andrew Sullivan has stated “There are as many politics of homosexuality as there are words for it, and not all of them contain reason. And it is harder perhaps in this passionate area than in any other to separate a wish from an argument, a desire from a denial. This fracturing of discourse is more than a cultural problem; it is a political problem. Without at least some common ground, no effective compromise to the homosexual question will be possible. Matters m
The Politics of Homosexuality - February 18, 2010
On the topic of homosexuality, Andrew Sullivan has stated “There are as many politics of homosexuality as there are words for it, and not all of them contain reason. And it is harder perhaps in this passionate area than in any other to separate a wish from an argument, a desire from a denial. This fracturing of discourse is more than a cultural problem; it is a political problem. Without at least some common ground, no effective compromise to the homosexual question will be possible. Matters m
Alumni Day: Woodrow Wilson Award Recipient
National Endowment for the Humanities Chair Jim Leach, a longtime former U.S. congressman, was given the Woodrow Wilson Award, the highest honor for undergraduate alumni.
Leach, who earned his A.B. in politics with honors from Princeton in 1964, began a four-year term in August as chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities, an independent grant-making agency of the U.S. government dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation and public programs in the humanities.
In his 1
Alumni Day: Woodrow Wilson Award Recipient
National Endowment for the Humanities Chair Jim Leach, a longtime former U.S. congressman, was given the Woodrow Wilson Award, the highest honor for undergraduate alumni.
Leach, who earned his A.B. in politics with honors from Princeton in 1964, began a four-year term in August as chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities, an independent grant-making agency of the U.S. government dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation and public programs in the humanities.
In his 1
Simulations at the Petascale and Beyond for Fusion Energy Sciences - March 10, 2010
Lunch 'n Learn presentation: Major progress in magnetic fusion research has led to ITER – a multi-billion dollar burning plasma experiment supported by seven governments (EU, Japan, US, China, Korea, Russia, and India) representing over half of the world’s population. Currently under construction in Cadarache, France, it is designed to produce 500 million Watts of heat from fusion reactions for over 400 seconds with gain exceeding 10 – thereby demonstrating the scientific and technical fea
Simulations at the Petascale and Beyond for Fusion Energy Sciences PDF - March 10, 2010
Lunch 'n Learn presentation: Major progress in magnetic fusion research has led to ITER – a multi-billion dollar burning plasma experiment supported by seven governments (EU, Japan, US, China, Korea, Russia, and India) representing over half of the world’s population. Currently under construction in Cadarache, France, it is designed to produce 500 million Watts of heat from fusion reactions for over 400 seconds with gain exceeding 10 – thereby demonstrating the scientific and technical fea
The Current State of the Economy
Matthew Taibbi, a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, and Gillian Tett, the U.S. managing editor of Financial Times, will talk about the causes and possible outcomes of the current financial crisis.
Taibbi, a 1991 graduate of Bard College who finished his studies at Leningrad Polytechnical University, has worked as a freelance reporter in the Soviet Union and Uzbekistan. In 1997 he and writer Mark Ames founded a Moscow-based, English-language newspaper, the Exile, which reported on corruption
The Current State of the Economy
Matthew Taibbi, a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, and Gillian Tett, the U.S. managing editor of Financial Times, will talk about the causes and possible outcomes of the current financial crisis.
Taibbi, a 1991 graduate of Bard College who finished his studies at Leningrad Polytechnical University, has worked as a freelance reporter in the Soviet Union and Uzbekistan. In 1997 he and writer Mark Ames founded a Moscow-based, English-language newspaper, the Exile, which reported on corruption
07 - Nash equilibrium: shopping, standing and voting on a line
We first consider the alternative "Bertrand" model of imperfect competition between two firms in which the firms set prices rather than setting quantities. Then we consider a richer model in which firms still set prices but in which the goods they produce are not identical. We model the firms as stores that are on either end of a long road or line. Customers live along this line. Then we return to models of strategic politics in which it is voters that are spread along a line. This time, however
17 - Paradise IV, VI, X
This lecture deals with Paradiso 4, 6 and 10. At the beginning of Paradiso 4, the pilgrim raises two questions to which the remainder of the canto is devoted. The first concerns Piccarda (Paradiso 3) who was constrained to break her religious vows. The second concerns the arrangement of the souls within the stars. The common thread that emerges from Beatrice’s reply is the relationship between intellect and will. Just as Piccarda’s fate reveals the limitations of the will, the represent
08 - Inferno XXVI, XXVII, XXVIII
Professor Mazzotta begins this lecture by recapitulating the ambivalent nature of Ulysses’ sin and its relevance to Dante’s poetic project. Inferno 27 is then read in conjunction with the preceding canto. The antithetical relationship between Dante’s false counselors, Ulysses and Guido da Montefeltro, anchors an overarching discussion of the relationship between rhetoric and politics. The latter half of the lecture is devoted to Inferno 28, where Dante’s preeminent sower of discord, B
26 - Race and Reunion: the Civil War in American Memory
Having dealt with the role of violence and the Supreme Court in bringing about the end of Reconstruction in his last lecture, Professor Blight now turns to the role of national electoral politics, focusing in particular on the off-year Congressional election of 1874 and the Presidential election of 1876. 1874 saw the return of the Democrats to majority status in the Senate and the House of Representatives, as voters sick of corruption and hurt by the Panic of 1873 fled the Republicans in droves.
Christopher Columbus in a Nutshell
A brief animated video that gives an overview of the life of Christopher Columbus and his voyage.
17.508 The Rise and Fall of Democracy/ Regime Change (MIT)
Coups, civil wars, revolutions, and peaceful transitions are the "real stuff" of political science. They show us why politics matters, and they highlight the consequences of political choices in times of institutional crisis. This course will help you understand why democracies emerge and why they die, from ancient times to the recent wave of democratization in Southern Europe, Eastern Europe, and the developing world.
Few things are more dramatic than the collapse of a political system, whether
17.037 American Political Thought (MIT)
This course surveys American political thought from the colonial era to the present. Required readings are drawn mainly from primary sources, including writings of politicians, activists, and theorists. Topics include the relationship between religion and politics, rights, federalism, national identity, republicanism versus liberalism, the relationship of subordinated groups to mainstream political discourse, and the role of ideas in politics. We will analyze the simultaneous radicalism and weak
17.433 International Relations of East Asia (MIT)
The aim of this lecture course is to introduce and analyze the international relations of East Asia. With four great powers, three nuclear weapons states and two of the world's largest economies, East Asia is one of the most dynamic and consequential regions in world politics. During the Cold War, East Asia witnessed intense competition and conflict between the superpowers and among the states in the region. In the post-Cold War era, the region has been an engine of the global economy while unde
17.905 Forms of Political Participation: Old and New (MIT)
How and why do we participate in public life? How do we get drawn into community and political affairs? In this course we examine the associations and networks that connect us to one another and structure our social and political interactions. Readings are drawn from a growing body of research suggesting that the social networks, community norms, and associational activities represented by the concepts of civil society and social capital can have important effects on the functioning of democracy
21H.311 The Renaissance, 1300-1600 (MIT)
The "Renaissance" as a phenomenon in European history is best understood as a series of social, political, and cultural responses to an intellectual trend which began in Italy in the fourteenth century. This intellectual tendency, known as humanism, or the studia humanitatis, was at the heart of developments in literature, the arts, the sciences, religion, and government for almost three hundred years. In this class, we will highlight the history of humanism, but we will also study rel
Asia Climate Change Policy Forum - Session 04
Asia Climate Change Policy Forum at The Australian National University on 27 October 2010.
Domestic Mitigation: Action and Issues
Frank Jotzo
Senior Lecturer, Crawford School of Economics & Government, ANU.
Ritu Mathur
Associate Director, Energy Environment Policy Division, The Energy & Resources Institute, New Delhi.
Arief Yusuf
Director, Centre for Economics & Development Studies, Padjadjaran University.
Seiji Ikkatai
Professor, Environmental Policy, Kyoto Institute of Economic Research,
12.102 Environmental Earth Science (MIT)
The geologic record demonstrates that our environment has changed over a variety of time scales from seconds to billions of years. This course explores the many ways in which geologic processes control and modify the Earth's environment and serves as an introduction to Environmental Earth Science Field Course (12.120), which addresses field applications of these principles in the American Southwest.
