Abstract
In this chapter, we share how we have come to use a combination of emic (local), etic (global) and dialogical (glocal) approaches in our work in ethnomodelling. The acquisition of both emic and etic knowledge presents us with an alternative goal for the implementation of ethnomodelling research. Emic knowledge is essential for creating an intuitive understanding of mathematical ideas, procedures and practices developed by members of distinct cultural groups. Etic knowledge is essential for cross-cultural comparisons, based on the components of ethnology. The implementation of a dialogical perspective is a third approach for ethnomodelling research that uses both emic and etic knowledge traditions through processes of dialogue and interaction. Finally, ethnomodelling is defined as the study of mathematical phenomena within a culture because it is a social construct and is culturally bound.
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Notes
- 1.
The concepts of emic and etic were introduced by the linguist Pike (1954) who drew upon an analogy with two linguistic terms: (a) phonemic, which are the sounds people use in a particular language, and (b) phonetic that relates to general aspects and the actual vocal sounds produced in language.
- 2.
Cultural traits are systems of knowledge that consist of patterns, traditions, meanings, beliefs, values, actions, experiences, attitudes, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, norms, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, artefacts, mentifacts, sociofacts and symbols acquired by a group of people, which are diffused and shared from generation to generation (D’Ambrosio 2001).
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Rosa, M., Orey, D.C. (2017). Ethnomodelling as the Mathematization of Cultural Practices. In: Stillman, G., Blum, W., Kaiser, G. (eds) Mathematical Modelling and Applications. International Perspectives on the Teaching and Learning of Mathematical Modelling. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62968-1_13
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