17.872 Quantitative Research in Political Science and Public Policy (MIT)
This course provides students with a rigorous introduction to Statistics for Political Science. Topics include basic mathematical tools used in social science modeling and statistics, probability theory, theory of estimation and inference, and statistical methods, especially differences of means and regression. The course is often taken by students outside of political science, especially those in business, urban studies, and various fields of public policy, such as public health. Examples draw
2.737 Mechatronics (MIT)
This course teaches the design of mechatronic systems which integrate mechanical, electrical, and control systems engineering. A computer hard disk drive is an example of a complex mechatronic system discussed in the class. Laboratories form the core of the course. They cover topics such as aliasing, quantization, electronic feedback, power amplifiers, digital logic, encoder interfacing, and motor control. The labs make extensive use of Simulink®, a MATLAB® toolbox which allows
Prescription for Change at the FDA: A View from the Other Washington, Part 2
Professors at the University of Washington ask: Does the Food and Drug Administration need more rigorous reviews and trials before approving drugs and devices? Should the agency change the process for evaluating safety and effectiveness after products hit the market? What are the political and scientific forces that shape the context for FDA decision-making and how can the clinical and public health communities be included in the discussion? This is the second half of a two-part program on this
3.53 Electrochemical Processing of Materials (MIT)
This course covers a variety of topics concerning superconducting magnets, including thermodynamic and transport properties of aqueous and nonaqueous electrolytes, the electrode/electrolyte interface, and the kinetics of electrode processes. It also covers electrochemical characterization with regards to d.c. techniques (controlled potential, controlled current) and a.c. techniques (voltametry and impedance spectroscopy). Applications of the following will also be discussed: electrowinning,
15.010 Economic Analysis for Business Decisions (MIT)
15.010 is the Sloan School's core subject in microeconomics, with sections for non-Sloan students labeled 15.011. Our objective is to give you a working knowledge of the analytical tools that bear most directly on the economic decisions firms must regularly make. We will emphasize market structure and industrial performance, including the strategic interaction of firms. We will examine the behavior of individual markets -- and the producers and consumers that sell and buy in those markets -- in
21H.560 Smashing the Iron Rice Bowl: Chinese East Asia (MIT)
This subject examines the experiences of ordinary Chinese people as they lived through the tumultuous changes of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. We look at personal narratives, primary sources, films alongside a textbook to think about how individual and family lives connect with the broader processes of change in modern China. In the readings and discussions, you should focus on how major political events have an impact on the characters' daily lives, and how the decisions they make cau
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
21H.302 The Ancient World: Rome (MIT)
This course elaborates the history of Rome from its humble beginnings to the fifth century A.D. The first half of the course covers Kingship to Republican form; the conquest of Italy; Roman expansion: Pyrrhus, Punic Wars and provinces; classes, courts, and the Roman revolution; Augustus and the formation of empire. The second half of the course covers Virgil to the Vandals; major social, economic, political and religious trends at Rome and in the provinces. Emphasis is placed on the use of prima
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.405J The Ancient City (MIT)
This course focuses on the archaeology of the Greek and Roman city. It investigates the relationship between urban architecture and the political, social, and economic role of cities in the Greek and Roman world, by analyzing a range of archaeological and literary evidence relevant to the use of space in Greek and Roman cities (e.g. Athens, Paestum, Rome, Pompeii) and a range of theoretical frameworks for the study of ancient urbanism.
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
17.436 Territorial Conflict (MIT)
This graduate seminar introduces an emerging research program within International Relations on territorial conflict. While scholars have recognized that territory has been one of the most frequent issues over which states go to war, territorial conflicts have only recently become the subject of systematic study. This course will examine why territorial conflicts arise in the first place, why some of these conflicts escalate to high levels of violence and why other territorial disputes reach set
14.41 Public Economics (MIT)
This course examines the role of the public sector in the economy. The aim of the course is to provide an understanding of the reasons for government intervention in the economy, the extent of that intervention, and the response of private agents to the government's actions.
21F.704 Spanish IV (MIT)
Spanish IV aims at developing and improving student's oral and written communication through the continued study of the language, literature and culture of Spain, Latin America and Hispanic communities in the United States. It also seeks to improve students' ability to read and appreciate literary and non-literary texts in Spanish, deepening this way students' awareness and understanding of the cultural diversity of the Spanish-speaking world. The course is organized by themes based on contempor
SP.772 Internet Technology in Local and Global Communities (MIT)
This course is based on the work of the MIT-African Internet Technology Initiative (MIT-AITI). MIT-AITI is an innovative approach by MIT students to integrate computers and internet technology into the education of students in African schools. The program focuses upon programming principles, cutting-edge internet technology, free open-source systems, and even an entrepreneurship seminar to introduce students in Africa to the power of information technology in today's world.MIT-AITI achieves this
HST.930J Social Studies of Bioscience and Biotech (MIT)
In this course, social, ethical and clinical issues associated with the development of new biotechnologies and their integration into clinical practice is discussed. Basic scientists, clinicians, bioethicists, and social scientists present on the following four general topics: changing political economy of biotech research; problems associated with the adaption of new biotechnologies and findings from molecular biology for clinical settings; the ethical issues that emerge from clinical research
11.969 Workshop on Deliberative Democracy and Dispute Resolution (MIT)
The Workshop on Deliberative Democracy and Dispute Resolution, sponsored by the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School and The Flora and William Hewlett Foundation, is a two-day conference that brings together dispute resolution professionals and political theorists in the field of deliberative democracy.
17.918 New Global Agenda: Exploring 21st Century Challenges through Innovations in Information Techn
This workshop is designed to introduce students to different perspectives on international politics in the 21st century. Students will explore how advances in information technology are changing international relations and global governance through opening new channels of communication, creating new methods of education, and new potentials for democratization. We will consider the positive and negative externalities associated with applications of such technologies. Students will be encouraged t
Domestic Violence, Shari'a, and Women's Rights: (with Lisa Hajjar)
This talk by Lisa Hajjar focuses on the issue of domestic violence in Muslim societies in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. The analytical framework is comparative, emphasizing four factors and the interplay among them: shari?a (Islamic law), state power, intrafamily violence, and struggles over women?s rights.
Caplan on the Myth of the Rational Voter
Bryan Caplan, of George Mason University and blogger at EconLog, talks about his book, The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies. Caplan argues that democracies work well in giving voters what they want but unfortunately, what voters want isn't particularly wise, especially when it comes to economic policy. He outlines a series of systematic biases we often have on economic topics and explains why we have little or no incentive to improve our understanding of the world
