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
IMD Co-Directors Bring Math and Democracy to Detroit Public Schools
As election season arrives, IMD will bring education around math and democracy into Detroit Public…
Report: Deficiencies in Recent Research on Ranked Choice Voting Ballot Error Rates
Alan Parry, PhD, Associate Professor of Mathematics, Utah Valley University John Kidd, PhD, Assistant Professor…
Math and Democracy Workshop for Bosnian High School Teachers
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…
