Cultural Mathematics

Session One: What is mathematics? (February 28, 2015)

In this session we will explore and discuss what is mathematics and how does one perceive the
practice of mathematics. We will look into how math is intertwined into all functions and aspects
of human life and how it is necessary if one were to be successful in the world and to
understand the happening around them. Students will also begin to explore how every number
has a story and that no numbers exists in and of itself. Students will begin questioning why
mathematics has been presented to them in the format that it has been and how to
mathematically question the world.
Session Two: Circles and Squares (March 7, 2015)
In this session students will look into the history of many geometric formulas and geometric
shapes, They will look into the history of geometric shapes and the ancient cultures, such as the
Mayans, Egyptians and Babylonians who contributed to the world of mathematics as we know it
today. Students will be able to understand why pi equals 3.14159265 and will be able to prove it
using scientific means. Students will be open to start questioning mathematics and how we go
on through life doing things simply because it is easier to flow with the stream than to swim
against it.
Session Three: One Doesnt Always Equal One (March 21, 2015)
In this session students will look at happenings in American history from a mathematical
perspective and will learn how mathematics paints different pictures of history. Students will
explore different perspectives taken during WW2 in regards to the bombing of Pearl Harbor and
the bombing of Hiroshima. In this session students will learn how to use mathematics to argue
and make a point and also to understand how mathematics is used to rationalize ideologies of
war.
Session Four: Mathematics in Art (March 28, 2015)
In this session students will explore how mathematics is used to create art of various forms
such as Tessellations. Students will learn basic concepts of mathematics that are implemented
when designing pieces of art. Students will learn about Escher Art and how symmetry and many
other geometric concepts play vital roles in design.
Session Five: Statistics (April 25, 2015)
In this session students will be given a chance to explore statistics and the role that it plays
when it comes to interpreting data mathematically. Students will use the data to critique
Americas prison-industrial complex, crime in Chicago, the lottery and many other concepts
involving injustice in the United States and throughout the globe.
Session Six: Because of the Internet (May 2, 2015)
In this session students will explore issues and mathematical advances due to the emergence
of the Internet Age. Students will learn about the mathematics behind ISBN number, selfchecking systems and Internet cookies and use mathematics to explore how various companies

and institutions use the Internet and mathematics to help find their target consumers. Students
will be given a set of data and will have to see which is the best advertisement to present to a
given consumer based on the information, or data, they have collected based on the users
Internet history.
Session Seven: Calculus: The Mathematical Practice of Storytelling (May 16, 2015)
In this session students will explore how the foundations of calculus ie within the ability to tell a
story using a graph. Students will learn how to apply mathematical knowledge to a simple story
such as fairy tale, by graphing the events on a graph and labelling the axes according to what
the story covers and it correlation to the graph.