Noam Chomsky and
Subrata Ghoshroy will be discussing how scientific research at MIT has been affected for the past 50+ years by its relationship with outside funding agencies, in particular the US military.
Since the end of the World War II the federal government has largely funded scientific research at U.S. universities. MIT has been receiving millions of dollars annually and a large part of the federal funding comes from the military.
Scientific research is driven by the passion of students and scholars.
But what else shapes and influences our research? And what are the
social and economical consequences of our research? At the height of t
he Vietnam War in 1969, in a campus wide protest, MIT students raised
these very questions.
Today, the US government is engaged in a "war against terrorism" which
has undermined the scope of our civil liberties. We also face social and political threats from climate change and an energy crisis. What should be the role of MIT in fighting these global challenges?
Although the Vietnam War is in the past, the pressing issues and questions that were brought to the forefront then are stunningly relevant today. Please join us for this provocative discussion.
