A meticulously researched history on the development of American mathematics in the three decades following World War I
As the Roaring Twenties lurched into the Great Depression, to be followed by the scourge of Nazi Germany and World War II, American mathematicians pursued their research, positioned themselves collectively within American science, and rose to global mathematical hegemony. How did they do it? The New Era in American Mathematics, 1920-1950 explores the institutional, financial, social, and political forces that shaped and supported this community in the first half of the twentieth century. In doing so, Karen Hunger Parshall debunks the widely held view that American mathematics only thrived after European emigres fled to the shores of the United States.
Drawing from extensive archival and primary-source research, Parshall uncovers the key players in American mathematics who worked together to effect change and she looks at their research output over the course of three decades. She highlights the educational, professional, philanthropic, and governmental entities that bolstered progress. And she uncovers the strategies implemented by American mathematicians in their quest for the advancement of knowledge. Throughout, she considers how geopolitical circumstances shifted the course of the discipline.
Examining how the American mathematical community asserted itself on the international stage, The New Era in American Mathematics, 1920-1950 shows the way one nation became the focal point for the field.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
"Clearly the definitive treatment of the ascendancy of the American research mathematics community to international prominence during the first half of the twentieth century. As such, it will serve as the point of departure for anyone wanting to delve further into the mathematics being produced in the United States in this time period."---Calvin Jongsma, MAA Reviews "Karen Parshall masterfully examines the self-laudatory claim for 'a new era' that elite American mathematicians advanced as they secured leadership positions on the international stage. . . . The writing is elegant and at times gripping."---Jemma Lorenat, Isis "While following a large cast of characters through a variety of institutional contexts, [Parshall] stops along the way to give meaningful background on each without losing the thread of the story. . . . [The New Era in American Mathematics,1920-1950] brings together and fills the gaps in what has already been written about the early twentieth century, and it offers new analysis based on in-depth explorations of personal (in some cases, private) and institutional archives."---Ellen Abrams, The Mathematical Intelligencer
Sprache
Verlagsort
Zielgruppe
Für höhere Schule und Studium
Für Beruf und Forschung
Produkt-Hinweis
Illustrationen
Maße
Höhe: 235 mm
Breite: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-0-691-19755-5 (9780691197555)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Klassifikation
Karen Hunger Parshall is the Commonwealth Professor of History and Mathematics at the University of Virginia. She is the author of James Joseph Sylvester: Jewish Mathematician in a Victorian World and the coauthor of Taming the Unknown: A History of Algebra from Antiquity to the Early Twentieth Century (Princeton).
