Decolonisation

It is sometimes argued that decolonisation is not necessary in the context of university mathematics. Isn’t mathematics a universal language? How can something universal possibly need to become more inclusive?

In truth, though, we need only look at the bitter feud between Newton and Leibniz (and their supporters) over who first developed calculus, to see that mathematics is not a subject that exists independently of debates over influence and focus. When two differing conceptions of the same idea, or two different methods aimed at achieving the same result, develop separately, which one will win out? And are we absolutely sure the winner will always be, in some sense, the “best” one? What does “best” even mean in this context?

Mathematics and culture are not always easily disentangled. An entire discipline exists that studies the link between the two. To take an extremely simple example, the power of ten represented by the word “billion” differs from country to country. For decades the British definition differed from the American definition, but following the Second World War, the original British definition (10^12) found itself more and more replaced by the American definition (10^9, taken from the numbers definition in French), until eventually the American version won out. Does this shift in language relate in any way to the changes in relative global influence of the UK and the US following World War 2? It’s at least worth considering the question.

It might then be inaccurate to suggest mathematics is a universal language, so much as different cultural approaches to mathematics are always translatable from one form into another. But then that is true of all languages! The question of whether we have allowed western mathematicians to dominate in our discipline is no less relevant than whether we have allowed western authors to dominate the field of literature. It may even be more important, if only because mathematics is rather more central to the advancement of science than is literature.

Decolonising the mathematical curriculum, then, means considering the cultural origins of the mathematical concepts, focusses, and notation we most commonly use, along with the goals we cite as justification for creating mathematics as a job, rather than a hobby. It involves ensuring the global project to expand our understanding of mathematics genuinely is global, and frankly assessing the discipline’s failures – past and present – to work toward that aim.

So how can we do this? I include some suggestions and resources below.

Suggestions & Resources

• Consider giving short biographies of the mathematicians whose work you present in your modules. If in doing so you realise that they are almost entirely (or even completely) white and/or male, ask yourself why this is. See if you can find contributions to the field from mathematicians of other genders/ethnicities.
• As an example of this, we have used the following links to highlight the contributions of Indian mathematicians, in particular Bhaskara, to the field of mathematics in our first year Single Mathematics A module: https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Projects/Pearce/chapter-13/, https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Bhaskara_II/.
• When tying examples in to real-world contexts, consider whether you can present the context outside of a western frame of reference. To give an example from statistics, two common examples of Simpson’s paradox involve survivors of the Titanic, and enrolment in an American University, both examples from the western world. But there is also an example one can cite which is based on the representation of the under-representation of Maori in New Zealand jury pools – an example that both decentres Europe, and also offers the ability to discuss how maths can be used to aid attempts to secure equality.
• The Open University has begun to collate resources regarding the history and practice of mathematics with an eye to decolonisation.
• Two books to consult on the topic of decolonising maths are Mathematics Across Cultures: The History Of Non-Western Mathematics, and Mathematics Elsewhere: An Exploration of Ideas Across Cultures. Both books are available online via Durham Library (see links).
• A brief video celebrating black mathematicians as part of Black History Month 2021 can be watched here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKp-_Kj8P9E.
• Here are 10 Questions to Begin Decolonising Your Maths Curriculum - the opening two diagrams are particularly powerful.
• The fractals at the heart of African designs:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7n36qV4Lk94. In mathematics, a fractal is a subset of Euclidean space with a fractal dimension that strictly exceeds its topological dimension (taken from Wikipedia). The video is a TED talk which shows that Africans have been using the concepts of fractal for their designs before it was really invented in the West.
• A discussion about Indian Mathematicians and their contributions to Mathematical Sciences: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0038xb0.