12.620J Classical Mechanics: A Computational Approach (MIT)
We will study the fundamental principles of classical mechanics, with a modern emphasis on the qualitative structure of phase space. We will use computational ideas to formulate the principles of mechanics precisely. Expression in a computational framework encourages clear thinking and active exploration.
We will consider the following topics: the Lagrangian formulation; action, variational principles, and equations of motion; Hamilton's principle; conserved quantities; rigid bodies and tops; Ha
9.71 Functional MRI of High-Level Vision (MIT)
We are now at an unprecedented point in the field of neuroscience: We can watch the human brain in action as it sees, thinks, decides, reads, and remembers. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is the only method that enables us to monitor local neural activity in the normal human brain in a noninvasive fashion and with good spatial resolution. A large number of far-reaching and fundamental questions about the human mind and brain can now be answered using straightforward applications of
11.125 Introduction to Education: Understanding and Evaluating Education (MIT)
This class uses K-12 classroom experiences, along with student-centered classroom activities and student-led classes, to explore issues in schools and education. Students in this course spend time each week observing pre-college math and science classes. Topics of study include design and implementation of curriculum, addressing the needs of a diversity of students, standards in math and science, student misconceptions, methods of instruction, the digital divide, teaching through different media
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
14.30 Introduction to Statistical Methods in Economics (MIT)
This course will provide a solid foundation in probability and statistics for economists and other social scientists. We will emphasize topics needed for further study of econometrics and provide basic preparation for 14.32. Topics include elements of probability theory, sampling theory, statistical estimation, and hypothesis testing.
14.74 Foundations of Development Policy (MIT)
This course explores the foundations of policy making in developing countries. The goal is to spell out various policy options and to quantify the trade-offs between them. We will study the different facets of human development: education, health, gender, the family, land relations, risk, informal and formal norms and institutions. This is an empirical class. For each topic, we will study several concrete examples chosen from around the world. While studying each of these topics, we will ask: Wh
16.982 Bio-Inspired Structures (MIT)
This course is offered for graduate students who are interested in the interdisciplinary study of bio-inspired structures. The intent is to introduce students to newly inspired modern advanced structures and their applications. It aims to link traditional advanced composites to bio-inspired structures and to discuss their generic properties. A link between materials design, strength and structural behavior at different levels (material, element, structural and system levels) is made. For each le
SP.691 Studies in Women's Life Narratives: Feminist Inquiry (MIT)
Feminist Inquiry starts with questions: What is feminism? What is feminist scholarship? Is feminist scholarship inherently interdisciplinary? Must feminist work interrogate disciplinarity? Must feminists collaborate?
Our aim is to promote the development of feminist theory and methods by providing a forum for sharing, assessing, discussing and debating strategies used by feminist scholars to study topics such as gender and the body; sexualities; color and whiteness; migration, colonialism, and i
16.36 Communication Systems Engineering (MIT)
This course will cover fundamentals of digital communications and networking. We will study the basics of information theory, sampling and quantization, coding, modulation, signal detection and system performance in the presence of noise. The study of data networking will include multiple access, reliable packet transmission, routing and protocols of the internet. The concepts taught in class will be discussed in the context of aerospace communication systems: aircraft communications, satellite
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
SP.401 Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies (MIT)
<p>This course is designed as an introduction to the interdisciplinary field of Women's and Gender Studies, an academic area of study focused on the ways that sex and gender manifest themselves in social, cultural, and political contexts. The primary goal of this course is to familiarize students with key issues, questions and debates in Women's Studies scholarship, both historical and contemporary. This semester you will become acquainted with many of the critical questions and concepts f
9.70 Social Psychology (MIT)
Our conjoint participation in the 9.70 learning system places us in a consensually-shared social situation. (All of the foregoing words are important. Do you understand their meaning in this context?) We will endeavor to organize ourselves into a community of discourse that approximates (albeit in an altogether partial way) a meaningful, real-world research enterprise: Like all scientific communities, we will work with limited resources. Unlike "real" scientific communities, ours will operate un
9.68 Affect: Biological, Psychological, and Social Aspects of "Feelings" (MIT)
Affect is to cognition and behavior as feeling is to thinking and acting, or as values are to beliefs and practices. Considers these relations, both at the psychological level of organization and also in terms of their neurobiological and sociocultural counterparts. In addition to attending weekly class sessions and doing regular homework assignments, students are required to participate in small study groups that meet independently for two hours per week.
21L.016 Learning from the Past: Drama, Science, Performance (MIT)
This class explores the creation (and creativity) of the modern scientific and cultural world through study of western Europe in the 17th century, the age of Descartes and Newton, Shakespeare, Milton and Ford. It compares period thinking to present-day debates about the scientific method, art, religion, and society. This team-taught, interdisciplinary subject draws on a wide range of literary, dramatic, historical, and scientific texts and images, and involves theatrical experimentation as well
6.641 Electromagnetic Fields, Forces, and Motion (MIT)
This course examines electric and magnetic quasistatic forms of Maxwell's equations applied to dielectric, conduction, and magnetization boundary value problems. Topics covered include: electromagnetic forces, force densities, and stress tensors, including magnetization and polarization; thermodynamics of electromagnetic fields, equations of motion, and energy conservation; applications to synchronous, induction, and commutator machines; sensors and transducers; microelectromechanical systems; p
17.418 Field Seminar: International Relations Theory (MIT)
This seminar provides an overview of the field of international relations. Each week, a different approach to explaining international relations will be examined. By surveying major concepts and theories in the field, the seminar will also assist graduate students in preparing for the comprehensive examination and further study in the department's more specialized offerings in international relations.
17.537 Politics and Policy in Contemporary Japan (MIT)
This subject is designed for upper level undergraduates and graduate students as an introduction to politics and the policy process in modern Japan. The semester is divided into two parts. After a two-week general introduction to Japan and to the dominant approaches to the study of Japanese history, politics and society, we will begin exploring five aspects of Japanese politics: party politics, electoral politics, interest group politics, bureaucratic politics, and policy, which will be broken u
6.047 Computational Biology: Genomes, Networks, Evolution (MIT)
This course focuses on the algorithmic and machine learning foundations of computational biology, combining theory with practice. We study the principles of algorithm design for biological datasets, and analyze influential problems and techniques. We use these to analyze real datasets from large-scale studies in genomics and proteomics. The topics covered include:
Genomes: biological sequence analysis, hidden Markov models, gene finding, RNA folding, sequence alignment, genome assembly
Networks
11.165 Infrastructure in Crisis: Energy and Security Challenges (MIT)
The purpose of this seminar is to examine efforts in developing and advanced nations and regions to create, finance and regulate infrastructure systems and services that affect energy security. We will introduce a variety of methodological and disciplinary perspectives. During the seminar, students will explore how an energy crisis can be an opportunity for making fundamental changes to improve collapsing infrastructure networks. The sessions will be used to introduce the challenges to modern s
14.451 Dynamic Optimization Methods with Applications (MIT)
This course focuses on dynamic optimization methods, both in discrete and in continuous time. We approach these problems from a dynamic programming and optimal control perspective. We also study the dynamic systems that come from the solutions to these problems. The course will illustrate how these techniques are useful in various applications, drawing on many economic examples. However, the focus will remain on gaining a general command of the tools so that they can be applied later in other cl
