A Word About Researching Culture
Part of researching culture involves preparing to encounter words, ideas, and methods that change over time and that one may not agree with. More than that, one may encounter offensive and harmful words and ideas held up as authoritative, as truth. Know that not everything published in book form is true, and that every published idea is open to debate. You already have and are developing skills to confront problematic claims.
That said, please take care of yourself when you do research. Make sure you have the space and resources to process difficult encounters. Encountering claims -- made with great authority and backed by the scholarly community -- that directly contradict our own experiences and identities takes energy and resilience and it is wise to pace yourself and reach out for support when necessary.
Librarian
Search Books and More In Carleton's Collections
Books by the following authors (links open up in Catalyst):
- Steven StrogatzAuthor of The Calculus of Friendship: What a Teacher and a Student Learned about Life while Corresponding about Math
- Eugenia ChengAuthor of titles like x + y A Mathematician's Manifesto for Rethinking Gender and The Art of Logic in an Illogical World
- Paul LockhartAuthor of A Mathematician's Lament
- Cathy O'NeilAuthor of Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy
- Jordan EllenbergAuthor of Shape: The Hidden Geometry of Information, Biology, Strategy, Democracy, and Everything Else and How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking.
Handbook on the History of Mathematics Education by ISBN: 9781461491552Publication Date: 2014The focus here is on the history of mathematical education, not the history of mathematical thought proper. However this text has an international focus that might help tease out some of the international issues in questions around “who does mathematics” and “who needs to learn mathematics.”
Example Books
Great Feuds in Mathematics by Call Number: St. Olaf Books QA21 .H45 2006ISBN: 0471648779Publication Date: 2006
- 122 Proofs of the Pythagorean TheoremNot a book, but a great example source.
Ethnomathematics by Call Number: Carleton Library Books (GN476.15 .A83 1991)ISBN: 0534148808Publication Date: 1991
Mathematics Elsewhere by Call Number: Also in print Carleton Library Books (QA21 .A83 2002)ISBN: 9780691187648Publication Date: 2018
