PCMI 2023 Workshop on Rehumanizing Mathematics

July 16-29, 2023 - Park City, Utah

2023 Organizer: Rochelle Gutiérrez, University of Illinois College of Education

Participants will further develop their understanding of equity (identity & power issues) in mathematics and consider how to expand our goals to rehumanize mathematical experiences for those with whom we engage.  In this workshop, we will explore different perspectives/theories, reflect on our own practices, learn from experts in the field who have been altering their practices, and create our own action plans for work we intend to carry out after the workshop ends.

Ideal participants will include mathematicians, mathematics teachers, and mathematics education professors who have a specific project upon which they would like to focus.  For example, you may have in mind a course you would like to alter in some way; a new initiative to launch; a summer camp or bridge program; a professional development or teaching activity to update; or simply a new way to think of assessments or evaluations.  By the end of the session, you will leave with a more developed action plan and feedback from others so you can put your best foot forward in your future work. 

Participants who are invited to participate in the Workshop receive the following support from PCMI: travel allowance up to $600 for travel scheduled through the PCMI travel agent; private lodging for the duration of the workshop; informal breakfast and catered lunch on weekdays, the opening reception on July 17 and casual suppers TBD; a $500 stipend for full participation in the Workshop.

This workshop is funded through an award from the National Science Foundation.

What past participants have to say about the Workshop on Rehumanizing Mathematics:

Francis Pina

I spent two weeks of July attending PCMI's summer session in the "Rehumanizing Mathematics" program. I entered that program drained and in need of something. I exited that program with a filled cup that exposed chambers I did not even know were empty. There was something so magical and rejuvenating about that experience. An experience that has added an extended family from Toronto down to Colombia and the Philippines.

I was challenged to consider different views of living and considerations of ownership. To unpack the effects our capitalistic culture has on my perspective of life and considerations of success. I am starting to explore and seek partnership with nature and understand indigenous ways of thinking. I left my experience with a project I look forward to implementing and cocreating with my 8th graders. I also left my experience with a new understanding of what experiences can happen when my 'ancestors be conspiring'.

And, here is a link to the full blog https://www.francispina.com/post/molting-until-the-big-4-0-pt-2

Monise Seward

During the Summer of 2021 I was supposed to attend Park City Math Institute (PCMI) to participate in a Rehumanizing Mathematics Institute with Dr. Rochelle Gutiérrez. [If you do not know her or her amazing work, please look into both!] 

Due to Covid, the institute was postponed. My cohort ended up doing our work online last Summer. Despite the virtual aspect, I ‘met’ some wonderful Teachers and Professors. More importantly, I gained a new perspective on Math experiences for Black and Indigenous Students.

For my program project, I chose to relate the journey of Math (noun) and Mathing (verb) to that of the Monarch butterfly’s annual journey through the U.S. and eventually to Michoacan (central Mexico).

Her blog post is http://www.moniseseward.com/