Read the first of two volumes of the Special Issue on Antiracism in Mathematics Education now! Second issue coming Winter 2023.
From the editors:
The 13th issue of Teaching for Excellence and Equity in Mathematics focuses on the topic of antiracism in mathematics education. This issue will be released in two parts: Volume 1, out now, was released in summer 2022, and volume 2 will be released winter 2023.
What do the articles in these volumes help us understand? Perhaps similarly to equity, not everyone agrees on a single definition for antiracism. That is clear even from the manuscripts presented here. But also like equity, people are situated differently in relation to the very notion. Racism in a white body, racism in a Black body, racism in a Middle Eastern body, or a Latinx body - these are not experienced the same. And so the logics (note the deliberate use of the plural to question the singular logic that mathematics tends toward) that inform action towards antiracism are not the same. At the same time, the collection focuses on the particulars of racism experienced in the United States of America context. Mills (1997) argued in The Racial Contract that racism is contextualized, informed by the place and space in which it occurs. Perhaps a better title for the special issue would be Antiracism in Mathematics Education in the US Context. It is in the particulars of the US experience, the racial stereotypes and racist beliefs and actions that permeate our landscape, that we can understand what antiracism can be within the same context. This does not discount an understanding of the global landscape, and how that contributes to an understanding of the particulars of US racism, but rather we start from the immediate context of the pernicious brands of American racism.
The collection of manuscripts presented in these two volumes come from people who speak from their experiential logic, constructing narratives that are both reflective of their own situations and potentially instructive for future ones (Ochs & Capps, 2001). You may be very excited to read a piece that resonates with you. You may react viscerally and negatively to another. The goal of the volume is to provide springboards into your own reflection and action, not to be a how-to manual. To that end, you may also notice a variety of genres in the articles such as memoir and reflection, self-study, classroom-based research, program analysis, etc. You may also notice that a number of manuscripts in both issues are collaborations across settings, job types, and lived experiences, reminding us that antiracist work needs community instead of isolation. We hope that this issue provides a sense of community for our readers.
Please download the full issue and immerse yourself, and your community, in crucial conversations around antiracism in mathematics.
In community,
Maria del Rosario Zavala and Ksenija Simic-Muller
Guest Editors to the Special Issue on Antracism in Mathematics Education
Sources
Mills, C. W. (1997). The Racial Contract. Cornell University Press.
Ochs, E. & Capps, S. (2001). Living Narrative: Creating Lives in Everyday Storytelling. Harvard University Press.
