Tuesday April 2 15:45: Book presentation at the Institut de Recherche Mathématique de Rennes
(5 min Lebesgue - Irmar - Bât 22-23 - Campus Beaulieu. Public: university students).
Tuesday, April 2, 8pm: Book presentation at the Maison des Jeunes et de la Culture du Grand Cordel
(18 rue des Plantes, Rennes), in partnership with L'Astrolabe bookshop. Sales, questions and book signing.
Wednesday, April 3 10h-11H30: Maths, beyond preconceived ideas
(amphi H Campus Beaulieu. Public: 2nd and 1st grade students. Welcome at 9:45 a.m.)
Abstract: In high school, mathematics is the most important subject, the one that opens all doors, and where only the best succeed. But why is it so important? And for that matter, where do our interest and skills in math come from? Is it in our brains or in our genes? When we take a sociological look at maths, we realize that the "best" in the field very often have the same profile. Conversely, if you're a girl, come from a modest background or are of foreign or immigrant origin, you're much less likely to succeed in maths... How can this be explained? What do gender, social origin or skin color have to do with it? Based on a sociological survey of 45 high school girls, this talk shows that there's nothing innate about success in math. On the contrary, our relationship with this subject is the result of social relationships. Sexism, elitism, racism... selection through maths is not as neutral as it seems.
Wednesday, April 3, 2 - 4 pm: Mathematics, the most elitist of disciplines?
(Amphi H Campus Beaulieu. Public: teachers and future teachers. Welcome at 1:45pm)
Summary: While France shines in terms of its performance at the highest level of international mathematics, it also stands out for a drop in the average level of students and for the intensity of social inequalities in this discipline. According to certain indicators, France is in fact the OECD country where being a girl or a student from a working-class background has the most negative impact on career paths and performance in math.
Drawing on social science research and a sociological survey using observation and interviews during maths courses for high school girls, this talk explores this paradox by analyzing how elitism - based on a persistent belief in a form of mathematical "genius" - produces and reinforces exclusion.
Clémence Perronnet will be present at all these events. More information here and here.
