December 1997
CPCS Welcomes Famous Mathematicians
A conference and speaker series at the College of Public and Community Service (CPCS) has attracted several internationally known mathematicians.
The conference was sparked by a new book, Ethnomathematics: Challenging Eurocentrism in Mathematics Education, edited by Marilyn Frankenstein, a professor in the CPCS Center for Applied Language and Mathematics, and Arthur B. Powell, associate professor in the Academic Foundations Department at Rutgers University-Newark.
"Ethnomathematics, coined in the 1980s by Brazilian mathematician Ubiratan D'Ambrosio, is described by the International Study Group on Ethnomathematics (ISGEm), an affiliate of the U.S. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, as follows:
"It is sometimes used specifically for small-scale indigenous societies, but in its broadest sense the "ethno" prefix can refer to any group -- national societies, labor communities, religious traditions, professional classes, and so on.
"Mathematical practices include not only formal symbolic systems, but also spatial designs, practical construction techniques, calculation methods, measurement in time and space, specific ways of reasoning and inferring, and other cognitive and material activities."
"This is an international movement, and we have a real diversity of opinions and experiences in terms of our backgrounds," said Frankenstein, an ISGEm member. "We're trying to have an impact on mathematics education."
During part one of the conference, held Nov. 3 and 4, CPCS Dean Ismael Ramirez-Soto presented Dirk Struik and Lee Lorch with special recognition awards.
Struik is "a living model for the lifelong learning we hope to encourage," Ramirez-Soto said. "He's been a friend or colleague to many of the 20th century mathematicians."
At 103 years old, Struik, emeritus professor of mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has experienced myriad transitions in his field.
Struik highlighted a century of mathematics history, including the misconception that "mathematics is a pure invention of the mind," the 1920s revelation that "Babylonian mathematics was more advanced than we had believed," the distinct character of Islamic mathematics, and the complicated mathematics system of the Incas.
Lee Lorch, emeritus professor of mathematics at York University in Toronto, focused on his political struggles as a mathematician and how racism and sexism have limited access to the field.
He candidly discussed being fired from several universities (two of which later presented him with honorary degrees) for vocalizing against discrimination and injustice. He also discussed the treatment of he and his colleagues during the civil rights movement.
Lorch and Struik, both targets during the McCarthy era, are not the only politically outspoken ethnomathematicians. Mathematicians are political because mathematics interacts with the culture and politics of knowledge, Frankenstein said.
Brazilian mathematics educator Gelsa Knijnik, who will keynote part two of the conference in January, is active in the Landless People's Movement in her country. Martin Bernal, the April 1998 speaker, has generated controversy by challenging the myth that Africans, Middle Easterns and Asians have made little contributions to mathematical history.
Approximately 100 people showed up for some or all of part one of the conference, including other well-known mathematicians from around the nation. Mozambican Paulus Gerdes traveled from Georgia, while Gloria Gilmer, co-founder of the ISGEm, flew in from Milwaukee.
The conference is sponsored by CPCS in collaboration with Trotter Institute, the CAS Mathematics Department and Dean's Office, the Graduate Program in Bilingual Education, TEAMS-BC, and the Center for Applied Language and Mathematics.