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Mathematics, Mathematicians, and Desire

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Mathematics, Mathematicians, and Desire Mathematics, Mathematicians, and Desire by Veda Roodal Persad M. A. (Math Ed), University of British Columbia, 2008 M. Math. (Statistics), University of Waterloo B. Sc., University of Toronto Dissertation Submitted In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Mathematics Education Program Faculty of Education Veda Roodal Persad 2014 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Summer 2014 Approval Name: Veda Roodal Persad Degree: Doctor of Philosophy (Mathematics Education) Title of Thesis: Mathematics, Mathematicians, and Desire Examining Committee: Chair: Peter Liljedahl Associate Professor Nathalie Sinclair Senior Supervisor Associate Professor David Pimm Supervisor Adjunct Professor Elizabeth De Freitas Supervisor Associate Professor Adelphi College, New York, NY Jeff Sugarman Internal/External Examiner Professor Alf Coles External Examiner Senior Lecturer in Education University of Bristol, England Date Defended: July 14, 2014 ii Partial Copyright Licence iii Ethics Statement iv Abstract This thesis is about mapping the landscape of engagement with mathematics, including elucidating aspects of who we are, as human beings, when we do mathematics and of what mathematics calls us to do if we are to engage with it. Using the concept of desire in the psychoanalytic theory of Jacques Lacan and the forms of desire as elucidated by the Lacanian theorist, Mark Bracher, I seek to find out what the mathematical encounter takes (the demands and costs) and what it gives (the offers and rewards). My central theme is that the mathematical experience is impelled and sustained by desire which takes various forms in the involvement with mathematics. I explore the construct of desire as it relates to the notions of the subject, subjectivity, and the Other of mathematics and mathematicians. Drawing on two sources, written accounts (autobiographical and biographical) of mathematical journeys and oral accounts from interviews I conducted with practising mathematicians, I discern the mathematical subject, the one who we are when we confront the discipline of mathematics, and I show how our involvement with mathematics turns on desire. I further show the importance of this kind of inquiry in building awareness of the forces that shape the cultural endeavour that is the teaching and learning of mathematics. Keywords: Affect; desire; emotions; subject; subjectivity v Dedication For my parents, Mr. and Mrs. Roodal Persad vi Quotation Look to this day! For it is life, the very life of life In its brief course lie the verities and realities of our existence The bliss of growth, the glory of action, the splendour of achievement… … from the Sanskrit vii Acknowledgements My deepest thanks and gratitude to: My parents, the late Mr. and Mrs. Roodal Persad of Trinidad, for their hard work and example; I live by their teachings still. Dr. Nathalie Sinclair and Dr. David Pimm for agreeing to be my Senior Supervisor and second committee member respectively, for their constant support, expertise, insight, generosity, and attention. I could not have done this dissertation without their help and guidance, and I am truly grateful for the opportunity and the experience of working with them. Dr. Elizabeth de Freitas, my third committee member for her valuable contributions to my drafts. The mathematics education area in the Faculty of Education, SFU for admitting me to the program, and to Dr. Peter Liljedahl for being my interim supervisor for the first two years of the program. Dr. Mark Bracher of Kent State University for his willingness to engage with a perfect stranger on Lacanian theory. Dr. Clint Burnham of the English Department, SFU for his insightful comments on an early draft of the dissertation, and to the Lacan Salon of Vancouver for giving me a place to ‘hear’ Lacan. My family and friends (including the ones at the Langara Printshop and the Langara Library) for their love and support. viii Table of Contents Approval .............................................................................................................................ii Partial Copyright Licence .................................................................................................. iii Ethics Statement ...............................................................................................................iv Abstract ............................................................................................................................. v Dedication .........................................................................................................................vi Quotation.......................................................................................................................... vii Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... viii Table of Contents ..............................................................................................................ix List of Tables .................................................................................................................... xii List of Figures................................................................................................................... xii Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................. 1 Unpacking the research problematic ................................................................................. 3 Finding the word, desire .................................................................................................... 7 Of mathematics, mathematicians, and desire ................................................................. 10 Overview of the dissertation ............................................................................................ 15 Whence and whereof I speak (1) .................................................................................. 17 Chapter 2: Towards the psychoanalytic turn in the mathematics education literature ............................................................................... 21 An underlying psychoanalytical thread ............................................................................ 22 A historical tracing ........................................................................................................... 26 Early wave (1978-1992): Affect .............................................................................. 27 Middle wave (1993): Psychodynamics ................................................................... 29 Recent wave (1994-2007): The turn to the psychoanalytic .................................... 34 Present wave (2008- ): The focus on subjectivity .................................................. 38 Situating my analysis ...................................................................................................... 42 Whence and whereof I speak (2) .................................................................................. 45 Chapter 3: Theoretical considerations ................................................................... 48 Why Lacan? .................................................................................................................... 50 Desire .............................................................................................................................. 52 Desire according to Lacan ..................................................................................... 53 The Other ...................................................................................................... 57 The objet (petit) a .......................................................................................... 58 Jouissance .................................................................................................... 59 Fantasy .......................................................................................................... 60 Bracher’s forms of desire ....................................................................................... 62 Subjectivity ...................................................................................................................... 66 Subjectivity according to Lacan .............................................................................. 66 Subjectivity according to Rotman ........................................................................... 70 Posing the research questions ........................................................................................ 72 ix Whence and whereof I speak (3) .................................................................................. 74 Chapter 4: Methodological considerations ............................................................ 78 Data and data sources .................................................................................................... 78 Interviewing as a research tool ....................................................................................... 79 Method of analysis .......................................................................................................... 82 Looking through the Lens of Desire ....................................................................... 82 Thematic Analysis .................................................................................................. 83 Listening with Interpretive Poetics .........................................................................
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