From “Women” to Structures of Power: Studying Militarism in Mathematics

Abigail Taylor-Roth, PhD candidate, The University of Chicago, USA

In order for mathematics to be an inclusive and welcoming environment for women, especially Black and brown women and queer folks, it must be a mathematics that is moving towards liberation. It is thus important to theorize the experiences of women in the mathematical sciences with the understanding that patriarchal structures and hegemonic masculinity are always intertwined with capitalism and militarism. I suggest that in order to think differently about women in mathematics, and, crucially, to create actual change in the field of mathematics, more attention must be paid to the militaristic and capitalist aspects of mathematical research. With this in mind, I present two alternative lenses for future work on women in mathematics which, taken together, allow for the necessary focus on capitalism and militarism. I suggest that we should use methods from feminist science studies to analyze structures of power in mathematics from a more holistic approach. And, simultaneously, we need to lean on and learn from political organizing efforts, specifically anti-militarism work in the sciences, to both develop concrete strategies for creating non-reformist change in the field and draw inspiration from the alternative and liberatory math-related spaces that people are already creating. In order to fight the deep-seated militarism in mathematics, both rigorous theorizations and strong praxis are necessary.