On May 20th, presenters and attendees gathered virtually in a space curated by our staff and students to wander presentation booths, converse with colleagues, and learn from UROPs at our first-ever SHASS Spring Research Showcase. UROPs from across the school presented a diverse range of projects: a database documenting the history of contested monuments across the US, a digital archive chronicling the history of an immigrant population in a midwestern industrial town, and a digital music corpus of sheet music for the study of a traditional Arab instrument, to name just a few.

The event was a marvelous way to come together to celebrate the successes of students and faculty across MIT, especially in this unprecedented year. We heard from many attendees how compelling they found the presentations. It is clear that the shift to remote learning, though a difficult one, led students and faculty to seek out new and meaningful ways to collaborate on a diverse array of projects.

We are so grateful to everyone who participated in this event and can’t wait to see where their projects lead! Check out the interactive exhibit online (password: showcase).