Headlines 2020

Seeing the light

Leda Zimmerman Political Science

Blindsided by a pandemic and hunkering down at home instead of celebrating spring on campus, MIT seniors might reasonably be feeling blue. But a group of political science majors glimpse brighter days ahead, as they springboard from rewarding academic programs into meaningful careers.

Teaching Remotely: Political Economy

Molly Ruggles MIT Open Learning

Theories of the State and the Economy (17.100) is a graduate seminar, normally consisting of in-person lectures and facilitated discussions. Faced with quickly transitioning to online teaching and without prior experience, Professors Suzanne Berger and Michael Piore met the challenge in several ways.

Charles Stewart on the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on the 2020 elections

School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

Charles Stewart III is the Kenan Sahin Distinguished Professor of Political Science at MIT and the founder of the MIT Election Data and Science Lab. SHASS Communications spoke with him recently about the broader impacts of the pandemic on the U.S. elections, in particular the decisions that need to be made, quickly, to increase the extent of voting-by-mail and other safe voting methods for the general election in November.

Why do banking crises occur?

Peter Dizikes MIT News Office

In a new book, political scientist David Singer finds two key factors connected to financial-sector collapses around the globe.

How door-to-door canvassing slowed an epidemic

Peter Dizikes MIT News Office

A study co-authored by an MIT professor shows how much that program, consisting of door-to-door canvassing by community volunteers, spread valuable information and changed public practices during the epidemic. The findings also demonstrate how countries with minimal resources can both fight back against epidemics and gain public trust in difficult circumstances. 

Best New Dataset Award

MIT Department of Political Science

Profesor In Song Kim is the recipient of the International Political Economy Society’s Best New Dataset Award for his LobbyView database.