RUME 28
2026
Alexandria, Virginia
Power Evasiveness in the Graduate Texts in Mathematics Series
Page: 1403
Texts have an interpersonal function that establishes relationships between authors, readers, and the content of the texts, and, thus, can be exclusionary. However, little research has critically analyzed how postsecondary mathematics textbooks may deny readers mathematical authority. We present an analysis of 40 books in the Graduate Texts in Mathematics series, exploring how power is implicated in authors’ use of pronouns. Using theories of power evasiveness, we illustrate how authors use inclusive language while simultaneously constraining the reader’s mathematical agency. While inclusive language is important for readers to be seen as full members of the mathematics community, our analysis signifies a need to reconstitute mathematical talk and writing in ways that ascribe more agency to emerging mathematicians.