MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

09/11/2026

SHASS is pleased to welcome folks to another year at MIT! Students, faculty, and staff are making connections, exploring buildings and spaces, and finding their ways to classes.

09/10/2026

Looking forward to another amazing year at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences …Let’s go…

09/10/2026

MIT Political Science professor Charles Stewart spoke with The New York Times for an opinion piece about upcoming midterm elections and the potential fallout from Trump administration efforts to amend how the postal service handles voting by mail.

“There is a low but nonzero chance that, in a state with a nail-biter congressional election, someone will discover 50,000 ballots at the post office on the Wednesday after the election,” Stewart said. MIT Election Data and Science Lab

The country has built a system in which Americans can have confidence. President Trump is trying to wreck it.

09/10/2026

“Pickleball is booming. It’s everywhere,” says Stanley Anderson ’79, CEO and owner of Costa Pickleball, which sells high-performance paddles in a range of decorative designs. “It’s not just a game, it’s now big business,” he says. https://bit.ly/4zTU9Bv

09/10/2026

Key State Last updated: Sep 08, 2026 Michigan Current Memos Michigan 2026 Report Michigan is one of the country's most competitive swing states, and it is administering its 2026 elections under rules voters recently rewrote. Michigan has also hosted several closely watched primaries with record turn...

09/10/2026

The New York Times highlights an MIT Human Insight Collaborative (MITHIC)-funded project co-led by MIT Political Science professors Adam Berinsky and Charles Stewart, III and MIT Sloan School of Management professor Chara Podimata studying how voters use AI to gather information about political races. MIT Election Data and Science Lab

Artificial intelligence is quickly becoming a go-to stop for voters looking for information about political races. Researchers are studying the effects.

09/09/2026

09/09/2026

Are you an MIT student, faculty member, or staffer? Need help bringing your unique brand of humor to the masses? Then let us help you share your big, funny ideas with the MIT community!

SHASS and the deFlorez Fund for Humor invite you to apply for a deFlorez Fund for Humor grant! If you think you've got what it takes, submit your application and get funds for your funny before the September 21 deadline. Good luck! https://bit.ly/3TspAzp

09/09/2026

In this week's newsletter, explore an MIT anthropology professor's community-based approach to archaeology, discover students' approaches to Chinese calligraphy, learn about a 75th Anniversary Symposium session, and more. https://mailchi.mp/mit/shass-weekly-10264338

MIT Anthropology
MIT Center for International Studies
MIT Economics
MIT Global Languages
MIT Libraries
MIT Music & Theater Arts Section
MIT Political Science
MIT | Program in Science, Technology, and Society

09/09/2026

Researchers examined the impact of time spent at a charter school on students’ learning outcomes in Lynn, Massachusetts. Results suggest that enrollment at a charter school significantly improved students’ test scores in both math and English language arts.