Editorial
Curriculum in a Time of Change
The Task Force on the Undergraduate Academic Program (TFUAP) has proposed a set of changes to the undergraduate curriculum. In Chapter 6 of The Prince, Niccolò Machiavelli offers a warning to those proposing to change established ways of doing things:
Faculty Travelogue
A Riddle Revisited
About five miles north of the Moscow Kremlin is an immense monument to Soviet Russia’s idealized image of itself. The Exhibition of Achievements of National Economy – known colloquially by its Russian acronym VDNKh – is a cross between Disney’s Epcot Center and the Smithsonian.
TFUAP: Core Principles
Given that the Task Force on the Undergraduate Program’s (TFUAP’s) proposal is being discussed around the Institute and in this Faculty Newsletter, we, TFUAP, will describe the core principles that have guided our decisions with regards to the proposal.
Words That Have Not Lost Their Force: The MIT Curriculum Debate Revisited
In 2006–2007, the MIT Faculty Newsletter became a forum for unusually candid and sustained debate about the future of undergraduate education.
Before we vote, please review . . .
Before we vote, please review the draft proposal from the Task Force on the Undergraduate Academic Program.
TFUAP Statistics
I believe there is great upside potential in the TFUAP proposal overall and one feature strikes me as particularly exciting.
IT GOD We Trust: GIRs D-FINE’d
We face many challenges/opportunities for unity :), and herein is how I have attempted to combine some thoughts of mine and others into a poem to reflect on some recent committee reports on how we might reshape the GIRs for example.
Gutenberg, or How the Curriculum Broke (and Reassembled Itself)
What follows is a historical inquiry, offered in the spirit of our current discussions, into how curricula reorganize themselves when the conditions of knowledge shift. The question is how institutions built to stabilize knowledge respond when the material they are meant to order exceeds . . .
The Temptations and Risks Posed to Multilingual Communicators Posed By Generative AI
In the May/June 2024 edition of the FNL, I reported on two pieces of 2023 research showing the communicative disadvantages still faced by non-native-English-speaking (NNES) graduate students.
Statement on Academic Freedom and Student Discipline
Recent disciplinary cases at MIT have raised issues of academic freedom and freedom of expression.
There Should Be More Engineers in Congress
I am sharing the following reflections to open a discussion among our MIT community on the role of engineers, scientists, and medical practitioners in public policy.
Why Graduate Students are Calling for a “Fair and Secure Workplace for All”
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As the current collective bargaining agreement approaches its expiration at the end of May 2026, we, the Graduate Student Union, write to inform you – our PIs, mentors, and advisors – that negotiations with the MIT administration are about to begin.
Editorial
When Critique Becomes Accusation: Principles for Editorial Responsibility
Nazli Choucri,
Catherine D'Ignazio,
Thomas Heldt,
Alan Jasanoff,
Nancy Kanwisher,
Tanalís Padilla,
Nasser Rabbat,
Yang Shao-Horn,
Franz-Josef Ulm
Émile Zola’s J’Accuse…! – published in 1898 at the height of the Dreyfus Affair – remains one of the most consequential pieces of journalistic writing in modern history. It did more than express outrage; it documented injustice.
FNL Editorial Board Election – Call for Nominations
As part of the FNL’s regular election cycle, a second election will be held in May 2026 to fill two (2) open seats on the Editorial Board.
Next Issue
Our next issue (May/June) will be a special graduation edition honoring the Class of 2026.
