Abstract
The stereotypical images for mathematics and narrative are: mathematics is logical, certain, and objective, whereas narrative is often perceived as emotional, indefinite, and subjective. Nonetheless, mathematics and narrative can actually be deeply intertwined. Mathematical narrative is a form of narrative used to communicate or construct mathematical meaning or understanding. The role of history of mathematics in the teaching and learning of mathematics has been discussed for several decades, and the relationship between mathematics and narrative has also drawn much attention among scholars. In this paper, I will address in what way and to what extent history of mathematics can trigger college students’ mathematical narrative in the courses of “History of Mathematics” and “Mathematics in Ancient Civilizations.” The study reports on how these students redefined mathematics after receiving history-based courses of mathematics. Based on students’ interpretations of mathematical knowledge, this chapter addresses the role of history of mathematics in developing students’ capacity for mathematical narrative.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bell, E. T. (1937). Men of Mathematics. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Boldt, A. (2014). Ranke: Objectivity and history. Rethinking History, 18(4), 457–474.
British Society for History of Science (2009). Mathematics and narrative: Bring Mathematics back to the cultural mainstream. A summer course at the Central European University in Budapest, July 20–24, 2009. Retrieved from https://www.bshs.org.uk/mathematics-and-narrative-bringing-mathematics-back-to-the-cultural-mainstream Cited 23 July 2019.
Burke, P. (2007). Lost (and found) in translation: A cultural history of translators and translating in early modern Europe. European Review, 15(1), 83–94.
Carr, E. H. (1961). What is History? London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Clark, K., Kjeldsen, T. H., Tzanakis, C., & Wang, X. (2016). History of mathematics in mathematics education: Recent developments. In L. Radford, F. Furinghetti, and T. Hausberger (Eds.). Proceedings of the 2016 ICME Satellite Meeting of the International Study Group on the Relations Between the History and Pedagogy of Mathematics (pp. 135–179). Montpellier, France: IREM de Montpellier Editors.
Clark, K., & Thoo, J. B. (2014). Introduction to the special issue on the use of history of mathematics to enhance undergraduate mathematics instruction. Problems, Resources, and Issues in Mathematics Undergraduate Studies, 24(8), 663–668.
Chen, T.-S. & Liu, P.-H. (2018). Analysis of the metaphorical role of mathematics in students’ writing. In T. Sibbald (Ed.), Teaching interdisciplinary mathematics (pp. 9–27). Champaign, IL: Common Ground Research Network.
Corry, L. (2009). Calculating the limits of poetic license: Fictional narrative and the history of mathematics. Configurations, 15(3), 195–226.
Doxiadis, A., and Mazur, B. (2012). Circles disturbed: The interplay of mathematics and narrative. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University.
Fauvel, J., & van Maanen, J. (Eds.) (2000). History in mathematics education: The ICMI study. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic.
Jenkins, K. (2009). At the limits of history. London: Routledge.
Le Roy Ladurie, E. (1979). The territory of the historian. (Ben Reynolds and Sian Reynolds, Trans.) Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Mandelbaum, M. (1967). A note on history as narrative. History and Theory, 6(3), 413–419.
Munslow, A. (2010). The future of history. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Ranke, L. (2011). The theory and practice of history. New York: Routledge.
Spence, J. D. (1974). Emperor of China: Self-portrait of K’ang-Hsi. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Stone, L. (1979). The revival of narrative: Reflections on a new old history. Past and Present, 85, 3–24.
Su, Y.-W., Horng, W.-S., Huang, J.-W., Chen, Y.-F. (2016). Mathematical narrative: From history to literature. 2016 ICME Satellite Meeting of the International Study Group on the Relations Between the History and Pedagogy of Mathematics, July 2016, Montpellier, France.
Thomas, R. (2002). Mathematics and narrative. Mathematical Intelligencer, 24 (3), 43–46.
Wesseling, H. (1998). History: Science or art? European Review, 6(3), 265–267. White, H. (1984). The question of narrative in contemporary historical theory. History and Theory, 23(1), 1–33.
White, H. (1984). The question of narrative in contemporary historical theory. History and Theory, 23(1), 1–33.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Liu, PH. (2022). History as a Source of Mathematical Narrative in Developing Students’ Interpretations of Mathematics. In: Zack, M., Schlimm, D. (eds) Research in History and Philosophy of Mathematics. Annals of the Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics/ Société canadienne d’histoire et de philosophie des mathématiques. Birkhäuser, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95201-3_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95201-3_10
Published:
Publisher Name: Birkhäuser, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-95200-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-95201-3
eBook Packages: Mathematics and StatisticsMathematics and Statistics (R0)