Abstract
If mathematics is a male domain, where does this leave women who do mathematics? In a world where there is little or no discursive space in which to be female, women who enter in must do identity work in order to achieve what is often an uneasy presence. This paper builds on recent research which suggests that some undergraduate women are however finding new spaces for belonging in the world of mathematics through critical reflection and collective challenge to dominant discourses. Focussing on an analysis of two women’s narratives of their success in mathematics, it explores their multi-voiced accounts of self through the lens of Bakhtin’s dialogism. It discusses the scope of reflexivity in creating new identity spaces in refigured worlds.
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Notes
Post-1992 universities in the UK were granted university status in 1992 as part of the expansion of Higher Education; most of these universities had previously been polytechnic colleges offering degree-level study, largely in technical/applied areas. They differ from older established universities in terms of having less strong research profiles, and greater emphasis on teaching; they also have less status.
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Solomon, Y. Finding a voice? Narrating the female self in mathematics. Educ Stud Math 80, 171–183 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-012-9384-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-012-9384-z