Join us for the 2025 SECOND GLOBAL HUMANITIES FORUM! This session introduces The Good Life: Religions, Philosophies & Sciences pillar inviting participants to explore how religious, philosophical, and scientific ways of thinking and being can foster good lives and good living in an uncertain world.2nd GHI Forum· Title: The Good Life: Religions, Philosophies & Sciences · Date: April 11, 10:00–11:30 AM EDT · Where: Online (Zoom link and Online Registration HERE) · Speakers: Rafal K. Stepien, Simran Jeet Singh, Andreas Ohlemacher, Wiebke Denecke【Abstract】How do religious, philosophical, and scientific ways of thinking and being nurture good lives? Taking this as a foundational question, this Forum of the MIT Global Humanities Intitiative is devoted to bringing greater clarity and honesty into our understandings of belief, reason, and human discovery in all its myriad dimensions. Hosted by the MIT Pillar on ‘The Good Life’, the Forum outlines the challenges facing our endeavor, discusses and debates diverse conceptions of the good life stemming from several of the world’s intellectual traditions and devotional practices, explores the experiential potential of engaged scholarship in the first-person, and proposes ways to harvest the meaning-making potentials of religions, philosophies, and sciences in the service of more cosmopolitan modes of inter-personal, inter-communal, and inter-religious human flourishing.Looking forward to seeing you at our events!The GHI Team————————JOIN OUR MAILING LIST (LINK) to get the latest announcements about our programs, and registration links!MIT Global Humanities Initiative Spring Events 2025GHI FORUM SERIES1st GHI ForumTitle: Cognition, Learning & Human FlourishingDate: February 21, 8:00–9:30 AM ESTSpeakers: Jonas Mago, Justus Wachs2nd GHI ForumTitle: The Good Life: Religions, Philosophies & SciencesDate: April 11, 10:00–11:30 AM EDTSpeakers: Rafal K. Stepien, Simran Jeet Singh, Andreas Ohlemacher, Wiebke Denecke3rd GHI ForumTitle: Public Literacies: Civic Systems, Media & Emotional IntelligenceDate: May 9, 10:00–11:30 AM EDTSpeakers: Richard Eberhardt, Gabor Hollbeck, Mikael Jakobsson4th GHI ForumTitle: Good Governance in Bad TimesDate: June 6, 10:00–11:30 AM EDTSpeakers: Wiebke Denecke, Johannes Makar, Michael PuettLAUNCH EVENTS:Launching the “Legacies for Our Future” Challenge: Celebrate the Planet with Mike Block, and Korean Folk Painting ExperienceWith Kim Jae-Hui, the Consul General of the Republic of Korea in BostonChung Byungmo, Director of the School of Minhwa (Korean Folk Painting)Kwak Yunmi, Minhwa ArtistTime: May 14 2025, 4:00-6:00 PMLocation: Edward and Joyce Linde Music Building @ MIT (Building W18: 201 Amherst St, Cambridge, MA 02139)CELEBRATE: Launch of the Asian Hub of MIT’s Global Humanities Initiative at Korea UniversityLocation: Korea University, SeoulDate: April 24-25, 2025SAVE THE DATE:4th Annual Conference of the MIT Comparative Global Humanities InitiativeTitle: Creating Desirable Legacies for Our Future in an Age of STEM & Big TechLocation: Korea University, SeoulDate: November 20-21, 2025

An online information session for those interested in applying for the 2025-26 cohort of the Teaching Development Fellows will be held on Zoom Friday, April 11, 11:00 am - 12:00 pm ET, hosted by Nathalie Vladis, Assistant Director for Teaching and Learning.About the Fellowship:Teaching Development Fellows work within an interdisciplinary network of peers dedicated to teaching and learning. They receive training and mentorship in teaching from TLL and design and lead independent, department-based workshops and events (in-person or remote) aimed at improving grad student teaching skills.Fellows should plan to commit approximately 8-10 hours per month from August to May to achieve the work associated with this program. Their work is supported by each fellow’s department with a total stipend of $2,100. There are also a number of at-large positions available, supported directly by the TLL.For more details about the fellowship, visit https://tll.mit.edu/event/2025-2026-teaching-development-fellows/EligibilityThe fellowship is open to graduate students in good academic standing with at least one semester of teaching or TA experience.For more information about the fellowship, eligibility requirements, and application process, please go to our website. The deadline for applying is Sunday, April 20 by 11:59 pm (ET).

Speaker: Jann Spiess (Stanford University)Title: Causal Inference on Outcomes Learned from TextAbstract: We propose a machine-learning tool that yields causal inference on text in randomized trials. Based on a simple econometric framework in which text may capture outcomes of interest, our procedure addresses three questions: First, is the text affected by the treatment? Second, which outcomes is the effect on? And third, how complete is our description of causal effects? To answer all three questions, our approach uses large language models (LLMs) that suggest systematic differences across two groups of text documents and then provides valid inference based on costly validation. Specifically, we highlight the need for sample splitting to allow for statistical validation of LLM outputs, as well as the need for human labeling to validate substantive claims about how documents differ across groups. We illustrate the tool in a proof-of-concept application using abstracts of academic manuscripts. with Iman Modarressi and Amar VenugopalBiography: Jann is an econometrician in the OIT group at Stanford GSB. His current research focuses broadly on two related themes: (1) highdimensional and robust causal inference, including work on using machine learning to improve inferences from randomized trials, robust inference in panel data, synthetic control, matching estimation, highly over-parametrized models, and high-dimensional outcome data; and (2) data-driven decision-making with misaligned objectives, including work on algorithmic fairness, human–AI interaction, the regulation of algorithms, and the design of preanalysis plans. He holds a PhD in economics from Harvard University.

Presented by the Emerson/Harris Program for Private Study Solo Recital SeriesProgramTBDLivestream: https://mta.mit.edu/viewlisten/live-killian-hallAbout the PerformersBIOAbout the Emerson/Harris Program for Private StudySupport for private musical study is available for students through the Emerson/Harris Program (E/HP), which offers merit-based financial awards for outstanding achievement on instruments or voice in classical, jazz, or world music. Each academic year, the program awards Scholarships and Fellowships to nearly seventy students who commit to a full year’s study and participate in the musical life of MIT.Auditions for the program are held at the beginning of each academic year. Private teacher selections, made in consultation with the E/HP jury heads, may include instructors from MIT staff and throughout Greater Boston. The Emerson/Harris Program is funded by the late Mr. Cherry L. Emerson, Jr. (SM, 1941), in response to an appeal from AssociateProvost Ellen T. Harris (Class of 1949 Professor Emeritus of Music). The Emerson/Harris Masterclass Series is supported, in part, by the Robert L. Malster (1956) Fund.This project is presented as part of Artfinity, an Institute-sponsored event celebrating creativity and community at MIT. Artfinity is organized by the Office of the Arts.

A 50 minute, (usually) student-led tour of MIT D-Lab, D-Lab prototypes, and our workshop! Hear about the 23-year history of D-Lab, our founding director Amy Smith, our 12+ MIT classes, research groups, humanitarian innovation program and more! Not free at tour time? Stop by anytime to look around or email d-lab-tours@mit.edu.

Have some fun(nel) on a tunnel or sun(nel) walk! Join us for a 30-minute volunteer-led walk either through MIT’s famous tunnel system or around Killian Court. As the weather gets warmer, walk leaders may choose to take the group outside. Is the weather warm and you missed the start? Find the group on Killian Court and join in!Sun(nel) Walk Leaders will identify themselves by holding a white flag at the meeting location.Location details: Meet in the atrium by the staircase. [See image below]Prize Drawing: Attend a walk and scan a QR code from the walk leaders to be entered into a drawing for a getfit canvas boat tote bag at the end of the getfit challenge. The more walks you attend, the more entries you get. Winner will be drawn and notified at the end of April. Winner does not need to be a getfit participant.Disclaimer: Tunnel walks are led by volunteers. In the rare occasion when a volunteer isn’t able to make it, we will do our best to notify participants. In the event we are unable to notify participants and a walk leader does not show up, we encourage you to walk as much as you feel comfortable doing so. We recommend checking this calendar just before you head out.Getfit is a 12-week fitness challenge for the entire MIT community. These tunnel walks are open to the entire MIT community and you do not need to be a current getfit participant to join.