RUME 26
2024
Omaha, Nebraska
Exploring the Role of Undergraduate and Graduate Real Analysis Experiences in the Mathematical Trajectories of Women Mathematicians from Historically Disenfranchised Groups: The Cases of Anna and Sasha
Page: 1478
This study explores the experiences of two Ph.D. women mathematicians from groups historically disenfranchised in mathematics, Anna and Sasha, in their undergraduate and graduate real analysis courses. As such, we aim to better understand these experiences for students from groups historically disenfranchised in mathematics with an eye toward informing instructional practices in advanced mathematics courses that support the mathematical development and pathways to achieving a doctoral degree in mathematics. We analyze participant interviews that focused on questions about their undergraduate and graduate classroom environments, their recollections of important concepts, and the role of their experiences in the development of their mathematical identity. Using tenets from Critical Race Theory (CRT), we address the following research questions: (1) What belief structures about how participants think of themselves as mathematicians were evoked by their experiences? (2) To what extent did their courses or experiences in real analysis advance their development as mathematicians?