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
2025 Math and Democracy Workshop for Bosnian High School Teachers
For the second year, IMD co-founder Ismar Volić and IMD affiliate Dženeta Ajanić will lead…
“Counted Out” Screening at Wellesley College
On Thursday, March 13th, IMD and the Wellesley College Math Department will co-host a screening…
Presentation Videos and Slides from “Redesigning our Democracy” by IMD Fellows
Exactly one month after the 2024 Election, IMD fellows engaged the Wellesley community in an…
Redesigning our Democracy – an IMD Event at Wellesley College
On December 5, we are excited to present “Redesigning our Democracy: A Quantitative Approach,” an…
Clinton Fellows’ Civic Innovator and Scholar Series Spotlights Ranked Choice Voting Advocacy
Wellesley’s Clinton Fellows program for sophomores consists of the Civic Action Lab before the start…
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…
