History

In a recent Starr Forum, Sana Aiyar, an associate professor of history at MIT, explored ways in which populist nationalism has reversed the progressive and inclusive policies of post-independence India.

Populism: a case-by-case study

MIT Starr Forum panel discusses extreme forms of populism that have endangered basic civil liberties and spawned intolerant rhetoric.

November 29, 2018

When Japan met the world

Inspired by a family background with extensive U.S-Japan ties, historian Hiromu Nagahara explores Japan’s cultural links to other societies.

November 20, 2018

The 2018 Election Insights series includes: Research-based commentaries by MIT experts on key issues for the country; a "Music for the Midterms" playlist; and an annotated election booklist.

Analyzing the 2018 election: Insights from MIT scholars

SHASS faculty members offer research-based perspectives with commentaries, plus a Music for the Midterms playlist, and an election book list.

October 30, 2018

Nisa Ari is a doctoral candidate in MIT's History, Theory, and Criticism of Architecture and Art program.

Unraveling the complex histories of Palestinian artwork

“My job is to be critical and deep as an art historian, and not as a politician,” says PhD student Nisa Ari.

October 22, 2018

Deborah Blum and her new book, “The Poison Squad”

Getting serious about food safety

Deborah Blum’s new book explores the unlikely origins of food and drink regulation in the U.S.

October 3, 2018

This wearable water quality test kit (early prototype pictured at left) provides a simple, accessible way to test the presence of E. coli in drinking water. A J-WAFS Solutions grant will enable an MIT research team to develop a regionally-appropriate commercialization strategy to ensure that these test kits can be accessible to rural and urban communities in Nepal as well as the other areas in Sou...

J-WAFS awards grants for commercialization of food and water technologies

Solutions grants will aid commercialization of novel MIT technologies to test water safety and improve agricultural productivity.

September 11, 2018

"Rising inequality is highly correlated to unequal access to education," Piketty said in an address at MIT. "In the United States, 95 percent of those with parents at the highest income levels attend college, while only about 20 percent of the poorest do, research shows."

At MIT, Thomas Piketty calls for policies and collaborations to reduce income inequality

French economist was a keynote speaker at the 2018 World Economic History Congress.

August 9, 2018

MIT historian Anne McCants, vice president of the International Economic History Association (IEHA), says that research presented at the 2018 World Economic History Congress speaks "directly to the questions the whole world is asking at this moment."

Q&A: Anne McCants on "Waves of Globalization," the 2018 World Economic History Congress at MIT

Congress of leading thinkers in economic, business, and social history convenes in the US for first time in 50 years.

July 30, 2018

“Innovation is born of openness to futures that are not easily imaginable," says Caley Horan, assistant professor of history. "History reminds us that many ideas, institutions, and organizational structures that now seem natural and inevitable did not always exist. In doing so, it throws open the door to boundless possibility.”

3 Questions: Historian Caley Horan on the rise of private insurance in the U.S.

Assistant professor explores how risk sharing and mutual aid shifted to individual forms of protection.

July 3, 2018

“One of things historians do," says MIT Associate Professor Tanalís Padilla (top right), "is analyze how systems of power are constructed — state power, corporate power, racist power — and what role different institutions play in that.” Clockwise from upper left: Craig Steven Wilder, Padilla, Malick Ghachem, Lerna Ekmekçioğlu.

The task of history

At community dialogue, MIT historians discuss the power of historical knowledge to make a better world.

May 22, 2018

“I believe the work of this class is important to the present — and to the future," says MIT President L. Rafael Reif. "What can history teach us now, as we work to invent the future? How can we make sure that the technologies we invent will contribute to making a better world for all?" Pictured: Craig Steven Wilder, the Barton L. Weller Professor of History, and Melissa Nobles, professor of p...

3 Questions: Melissa Nobles and Craig Steven Wilder on the MIT and Legacy of Slavery project

MIT Community Dialogue series is underway as multi-year research continues.

April 30, 2018

The keynote panel at the 10th annual meeting of the Kendall Square Association (KSA) comprised three members of The Boston Globe’s current Spotlight team (from left): reporter Andrew Ryan, columnist Adrian Walker, and editor Patricia Wen. Panel moderator was Malick W. Ghachem (far right), a professor of history at MIT. The team’s latest seven-part project — titled, “Boston. Racism. Image. ...

KSA meeting puts “Spotlight” on region’s diversity issues

At annual event, Boston Globe’s Spotlight team discusses its latest investigation into racism in Boston.

March 30, 2018

The 2018 MacVicar Faculty fellows are (clockwise from top left): Shankar Raman, David Autor, Merritt Roe Smith, and Christopher Capozzola.

Four professors named 2018 MacVicar Fellows

Autor, Capozzola, Raman, and Smith receive MIT's most prestigious undergraduate teaching award.

March 5, 2018

Four MIT students from the first "MIT and Slavery" class (21H.S01) presented well-researched information and narratives that shed new light on the history of science and technology in the U.S. (Left to right) Charlotte Minsky '20, Kelvin Green II '21, Mahi Elango '20, teaching assistant and PhD student Clare Kim, and, at the podium, Alaisha Alexander '18.

Event explores initial findings from “MIT and Slavery” class

Students bring the Institute into national conversation about universities and the institution of slavery in the United States.

February 23, 2018

From left to right: Nora Murphy, archivist for researcher services in the Institute Archives and Special Collections; Craig Steven Wilder, the Barton L. Weller Professor of History in the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences; Clare Kim, a graduate student in the HASTS program (History, Anthropology, and Science, Technology, and Society) who served as teaching assistant for Murphy and Wi...

MIT class reveals, explores Institute’s connections to slavery

Findings show founder William Barton Rogers possessed enslaved persons before coming to MIT; research, community dialogue to ensue.

February 12, 2018

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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