Author Archives: Brian Katz

What’s the buzz? Tell me what’s happening: A conference on ethics in mathematics.

Posted on April 30, 2018 by Brian Katz

Guest Post by Catherine Buell In a time before Cambridge Analytica but after Snowden, there was a buzz in the maths hall at the University of Cambridge. Two Cambridge academics, Maurice Chiodo and Piers Bursill-Hall, together with many of their … Continue reading →

Posted in ethics, public scholarship, social justice | 3 Comments

Workshop on Increasing Minority Participation in Mathematics: Reflections on A Park City Mathematics Institute program

Posted on February 27, 2018 by Brian Katz

[Applications for PCMI “Shape of the River: Workshop on Equity in Mathematics Education” are open until March 7, 2018.] Guest Post by Martha Shott Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Statistics Sonoma State University Question: What are you hoping to get … Continue reading →

Posted in equity, introduction, leadership, minorities in math, social justice, women in math | Comments Off on Workshop on Increasing Minority Participation in Mathematics: Reflections on A Park City Mathematics Institute program

Here, There and Back Again: Developing Pre-Service Teachers’ Racial Consciousness Abroad

Posted on January 25, 2018 by Brian Katz

Guest post by Dr. Mike Egan of Augustana College. Here “If the streets shackled my right leg, the schools shackled my left. Fail to comprehend the streets and you gave up your body now. But fail to comprehend the schools … Continue reading →

Posted in inclusive pedagogy, international study, math education, racism, social justice, supporting students, teacher education | 2 Comments

We can be better

Posted on January 9, 2018 by Brian Katz

As many of us look forward to the sense of community at the Joint Meetings this week, we should remember that conferences include many situations that are fraught with the danger of harassment and alienation, especially for people in our … Continue reading →

Posted in ableism, bystander intervention, conferences, introduction | 2 Comments

Complicit Function Theorem

Posted on October 30, 2017 by Brian Katz

This week, I was separated by small degrees from two separate acts of terrorism motivated by hate. (1) Students and faculty/staff on my campus had set up a local version of The Clothesline Project, in which survivors of sexual violence … Continue reading →

Posted in bystander intervention, cultural pressure in academia, gender research, implicit bias, intersectionality, introduction, mental health, minorities in math, public scholarship, racism, sexism, social media, victim-blaming, women in math | Comments Off on Complicit Function Theorem

Discussing Justice on the First Day of Class

Posted on August 17, 2017 by Brian Katz

I have written in other public fora that math is not apolitical, that the implicit messages in our silence on these issues is damaging to students, and that mathematics has particular bigoted elements in its history and present framing that … Continue reading →

Posted in introduction, social justice | 18 Comments

i/e Spotlight: CIMPA, ICTP, IMU, EMALCA, et al.

Posted on August 5, 2017 by Brian Katz

by Adriana Salerno (from Beijing) So far in this blog, we have focused mostly on issues of diversity and inclusion affecting mathematicians in the United States. But as an immigrant myself, I feel it is important to remember that we … Continue reading →

Posted in introduction | 1 Comment

Get Off The Road

Posted on July 28, 2017 by Brian Katz

Many reliable mathematical models of the environment say we are destroying this planet with $CO_2$ (carbon dioxide) or at least making it uninhabitable for human culture as we know it within a couple of generations. What responsibility do we, as … Continue reading →

Posted in cultural pressure in academia, implicit bias, intersectionality, social justice | 1 Comment

Supremum/Supremacy

Posted on May 4, 2017 by Brian Katz

I’m going to say something political that some of you may not like. In the spirit of The Oatmeal, I’m going to ask you to read to the end before you decide that I cannot possibly have said what I … Continue reading →

Posted in cultural pressure in academia, equity, implicit bias, intersectionality, introduction, math education, social justice | 10 Comments

Inquiry and Equity

Posted on March 3, 2017 by Brian Katz

Education is, at its heart, about justice. It is the institution that empowers individuals to improve the conditions around them, to be intentional and involved citizens, to live meaningful and fulfilling lives. Or at least it should. Cultural institutions like … Continue reading →

Posted in inquiry, racism, sexism | Comments Off on Inquiry and Equity