MIT · 21H.S01·2017Design, Health & Society
MIT & Slavery
Researching slavery terminology in science at MIT — what institutions say, and what they leave unsaid.
Absence and silence are powerful tools in the shaping of history. I approached this with an interest in how science shaped education policy and, in turn, the leaders and scientists of the past. What I found highlighted not just what was written but what wasn't. MIT's history with slavery is complicated but not invisible; brief statements in minutes, publications, and letters offer insight into the people and ideas that influenced faculty and students — and their own thinking.
