Confronting Euro-Centrism and Erasure in Discrete Math

 
Theodore Kim
Yale University
January 2021
 
   

 
Abstract

This is a summary of measures I took in Fall 2020 to confront Euro-Centrism and the historical erasure of non-Western figures in a discrete math course, CPSC 202: Mathematical Tools for Computer Science. These measures included investigations of Boolean logic and Pascal's Triangle, and an examination of the naming double standards applied to Euclid's Algorithm vs. the Chinese Remainder Theorem. Students were given the opportunity to investigate the history further as an optional bonus assignment in the run-up to the 2020 US presidential election. I also summarize some of their remarkable findings.

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