Author Archives: Tian An

The mathjob market is bad. But what else is new? A 2020 retrospective

Let me start by saying that it’s no news to anyone that the pandemic has affected the academic job market. At the same time, it’s nice to have some data to back up that feeling of doom. Especially for someone … Continue reading

Posted in cultural pressure in academia, equity, graduate school, minorities in math | 2 Comments

Math, in pandemic and precarity

Today is the last day of my employment. I didn’t expect it to matter to me, because my relationship with my current institution has soured over the way the administration and tenured faculty have handled their response to the pandemic, … Continue reading

Posted in Black Lives Matter, cultural pressure in academia, hiring | 10 Comments

Can mathematics be antiracist?

In 2017, mathematics education professor Rochelle Gutiérrez wrote that “mathematics operates as whiteness.” Word of this spread quickly, leading to a strong backlash of hate mail and offensive comments on Gutiérrez’s social media [1]. This soundbite is often quoted without … Continue reading

Posted in equity, hiring, intersectionality, math education, social justice, transparency in teaching | 2 Comments