Mathematics appears in scores of political contexts that college students, high-schoolers, and even younger students can understand. Subjects like voting, apportionment, and gerrymandering are accessible and perfect for transdisciplinary learning since they occupy a unique place in the intersection of mathematics, statistics, computer science, political science, economics, and history. These topics have unparalleled import on democracy while being conspicuously absent from our schools.
One of IMD’s goals is to remedy this problem. We develop curricula, train teachers, and create teaching modules that foster both political quantitative literacy and the understanding of how mathematics governs many democratic processes.
Contact us to learn how IMD can bring topics like these to your classroom:
- Mathematics of the Electoral College
- Voting – plurality, ranked choice, cardinal and other methods
- Apportionment
- Impossibility theorems
- Gerrymandering – efficiency gap and compactness scores
- Quantification of power
- Game theory – conflict, bargaining, and negotiation
- Number theory of cryptography and its regulation
- Graph theory of networks and voter manipulation
- Statistics in politics
Math and Democracy Workshop for Bosnian Schools
This June, IMD’s Prof. Ismar Volić will lead a workshop for high school math teachers…
Grassroots Advocacy Meets Math – Ranked Choice Voting Event
On Tuesday, Wellesley College Government’s Committee for Political Engagement hosted an event on Ranked Choice…
Math Meets Politics in The Parliament of Mongolia
Concerned with Mongolian electoral system reform, IMD affiliate Dr. Uuganbaatar Ninjbat recently authored a paper…
Ranked Choice Voting – IMD x CPE Event
The Committee for Political Engagement of the Wellesley College Student Government and the Institute for…
IMD Affiliate Presents the Annual Heard Lecture on Computational Social Choice at Wellesley’s Mathematics Department
The annual Martha Davenport Heard Lecture will take place on February 15th, 2024, at Wellesley's…
IMD Co-founder Stanley Chang Speaks about Voting Methods at a Houston, TX High School
Earlier this November, IMD Co-Founder Dr. Stanley Chang visited Episcopal High School’s Math Club and…
