SMRI Special Semester with Francis Su -- Perspectives on Mathematics: Its Humanity, Culture, & Communication

SMRI Special Semester with Francis Su Perspectives on Mathematics: Its Humanity,
Culture, & Communication 

Sydney Mathematical Research Institute Special Semester 

1 March - 31 May 2024 

https://sites.google.com/view/perspectives-mathematics-2024/ 

Theme One What is Mathematics? 

Fri 1 March Introduction: Establishing Important Questions 14:00-16:00 AEDT Law Annex
Seminar Room 346 

Fri 8 March What is Mathematics? 14:00-16:00 AEDT Law Annex Seminar Room 346 

Intermezzo One International Day of Mathematics: 14 March Public Lecture by Milena
Radnovic 18:00-20:00 AEDT Messel Lecture Theatre, Sydney Nanoscience Hub 

Theme Two Cultures of Research in Mathematics 

Mon 18 March The Culture of Mathematics Research 14:00-16:00 AEDT Carslaw 535 

Mon 25 March Panel Discussion in conjunction with the IMU-SMRI event 16:00-17:30 AEDT
Quad Board Room S445 

Intermezzo Two Universities Australia Easter break 

Theme Three Our Cultural Understanding of Mathematics 

Fri 12 April Our Cultural Understanding of Mathematics 14:00-16:00 AEST Carslaw 535 

Fri 19 April Indigenous Mathematics (with Rowena Ball and Jared Field) 14:00-16:00 AEST
Law Annex Lecture Theatre 024 Abstract: Rowena Ball (ANU) and Jared Field (UMelbourne)
join us in week 6 of the Perspectives Seminar, in which we discuss questions like these:
Why is it important that Australians understand the cultural history of mathematics done
by Indigenous peoples? How might a better appreciation improve both the way we teach and
learn maths, as well as the content of maths itself? What can Indigenous Mathematics
teach us about the place of Western mathematics in human knowledge? All are welcome,
even if you’ve not attended the seminar before.  Readings are not required to engage in
discussion, but we encourage you to do some of the suggested readings (in the "Our
Cultural Understanding of Mathematics" section) to enhance your experience.  

Intermezzo Three Further discussion 

Theme Four Becoming Inclusive Maths Communities 

Fri 3 May Women in Mathematics (with Catherine Greenhill and Ben Burton) 14:00-16:00
AEST Law Annex Lecture Theatre 026 Abstract: Catherine Greenhill (UNSW) and Ben Burton
(U.  Queensland) join us in week 7 of the Perspectives Seminar.  We will learn about
their efforts to make math communities more inclusive of women, such as in the formation
of WIMSIG (Greenhill) and in diversifying math competitions (Burton).  They will help us
to think about how we, in our own roles, can inspire changes in our own spheres of
influence, through changes in structure, climate, and the development of community.  

All are welcome, even if you’ve not attended the seminar before.  Readings are not
required to engage in discussion, but we encourage you to do some of the suggested
readings (especially the recent article by Cheryl Praeger and Lesley Ward and nearby
articles) to enhance your experience.
https://sites.google.com/view/perspectives-mathematics-2024/readings 

Fri 10 May Towards a Fully Inclusive Mathematics Profession 14:00-16:00 AEST Law Annex
Lecture Theatre 026 There are many obstacles to the support of inclusive mathematical
communities, including historical discrimination.  In 2021, the American Mathematical
Society (AMS) released a report that wrestled with the legacy of racism within the
society by interviewing mathematicians about their experiences, naming specific
historical injustices, outlining patterns of exclusion, and making recommendations to
the society for change.  As VP of AMS at the time and co-chair of the Task Force that
produced the report, Francis will describe the efforts of the task force, some of its
findings, what has happened since then, and lessons learned.  

All are welcome, even if you’ve not attended the Perspectives Seminar before.  Readings
are not required to engage in discussion, but we encourage you to read the AMS report
Towards a Fully Inclusive Mathematics Profession
(https://www.ams.org/about-us/understanding-ams-history) (especially the Preface,
Chapters 1 and 5) or other of the suggested readings to enhance your experience
(https://sites.google.com/view/perspectives-mathematics-2024/readings.)  

Intermezzo Four International Day of Women in Mathematics: 12 May 

Theme Five Impact on Teaching and Communicating Mathematics 

***Fri 24 May 
’Mathematical Journeys into Inclusive Teaching’ (with Amie Albrecht and
Eddie Woo) 
14:00-16:00 AEST Law Annex Lecture Theatre 026 
Amie Albrecht (UniSA) and Eddie Woo (USyd) will join us in Week 9 of the Perspectives 
Seminar https://sites.google.com/view/perspectives-mathematics-2024.  Albrecht is a
mathematician now doing work in mathematics education, and Woo is a mathematics teacher
working to help other teachers improve their craft.  They will share their journeys,
their insights into what it means to teach mathematics inclusively, and what university
educators can learn from those whose expertise is in maths education.  In discussion,
we’ll think about how we can improve our own practice of teaching maths in inclusive
ways.  

All are welcome, even if you’ve not attended the seminar before.  Readings are not
required to engage in discussion, but we encourage you to do some of the suggested
readings (especially the pieces by Yong and Albrecht) to enhance your experience.
(https://sites.google.com/view/perspectives-mathematics-2024/readings.)  

Wed 29 May Public Lecture: Po-Shen Loh ’Using maths to invent solutions to large-scale
human problems, just in time to survive AI’ SSB-02-200 17:30-18:30 AEST 

Fri 31 May Communicating Maths for the Public (with Po-Shen Loh) 14:00-16:00 AEST 

Fri 7 Jun Using Your Voice for Influence: Writing Maths Pieces for Newspapers (with
Francis Su) - Part 1 Fri 14 June - Part 2 Location: SMRI Seminar Room A12-03-301 Time:
2:00 pm to 4:00pm 

Part 1 is open to all: The degeneration of public discourse and the proliferation of
fake news is cause for great concern among people who value facts, evidence, and
civility.  As mathematicians, we are in a unique position to combat this troubling trend
with quantitative information, but to be effective we need to be able to reach a general
audience.  One way to do that is by writing opinion for popular print or online media.
In the final two sessions of the Perspectives Seminar, Francis Su (who has written
math-related opinion for newspapers and hosted workshops at the Joint Meetings to train
others) will explain how to choose compelling topics and angles, distill relevant
quantitative information, write at an appropriate level, and get your work into the
hands of people who will publish it.  Bring a laptop for brainstorming.  

Part 2 is open to those who register at this link.
[https://forms.gle/dddpKQJLAQvQ5xrs5] 

In part 2 of this workshop, participants will bring drafts of a piece that they’ve
worked on since Part 1, and offer feedback and comments on each others’ drafts.  The
goal is to have a piece that is almost ready for submission to an appropriate venue.  

Course Description 

This interactive seminar series will explore and illuminate the human side of
mathematics - the culture(s) of mathematics, how we teach and do research in it, who we
include, and the impact of how we communicate maths to students and the broader public.
Discussions and invited presentations will help participants envision how they can
improve the culture, practices, and communication around maths to better serve their
communities.  We imagine the topics will interest mathematicians, educators, and
practitioners.  

Seminar 1: Important Questions 

In this first session to open the Perspectives Seminar, we will establish important
questions we would like to tackle over the course of the term around the humanity,
culture, and communication of mathematics.  Meet others interested in exploring these
topics, hear the organisers talk about the goals of the seminar, and participate in
interactive activity and discussion.  Suggested readings will enhance one’s experience
in the seminar.  

Seminar 2: The Relationship Between Humans & Mathematics 

The seminar comprises five two-week blocks centred on a theme, and will meet 14:00-16:00
AEST on Fridays in those weeks (except for the Theme Two).  Each block is followed by an
intermezzo, a "free week" that allows participants to explore the theme further or to
attend aligned events.  Location is at the University of Sydney.  See the calendar below
for topics, dates, and rooms (some details still to be finalised).  An abstract will be
posted prior to each session.  

We invite you to join us for rich discussions and interaction, especially in Week 1,
when we set the stage for what will come, and you can connect with others interested in
pursuing a holistic approach to maths and maths education.  

We encourage you to register your interest in the series at this form (optional, but
helps us to plan).  If you have other questions, write to Francis Su.  All talks are
free and open to the public.  

The special semester leads up to the International Congress of Mathematical Education
that takes place in Sydney from 7-14 July 2024.