A Farewell to Living Proof
By Allison Henrich and Matthew Pons
When we started the project Living Proof: Stories of Resilience Along the Mathematical Journey, the goal was to provide a resource for students who were struggling with belonging in the mathematical community. At the outset, we were focused on the sense of belonging that students feel (or don’t feel) by virtue of their perceived ability, but feeling welcome in our community requires more than a solid understanding of mathematical content. Many of our colleagues have felt like they don’t truly belong to our community even though, on paper, they are very accomplished mathematicians. We quickly came to understand that the Living Proof project needed to be much broader.
While some stories in Living Proof have focused on struggles with content, most of the pieces we have been able to share over the last several years have been about identity and experiences outside of the mathematics classroom—and how these relate to a sense of belonging. As Robin Wilson wrote in Living Proof, “Belonging is a fundamental human need.” While of critical importance, we have learned from the diverse collection of stories that have been shared that “belonging” is subjective—it means something unique to each of us. That is precisely why it has been a priority to share many stories told from diverse perspectives, to deepen our community’s understanding of how to create these belonging spaces. It’s why we published 41 stories in the book and 50 posts in the blog.
It feels like people have connected with these aims of the Living Proof project; we’ve received so many emails over the years about the impact of our stories. Many of these have come from faculty who have shared reflective activities they’ve assigned along with quotes from their students. Many students who have read Living Proof stories weren’t aware of how common it was for people—even passionate and talented mathematicians—to struggle through their math classes, and they’ve found comfort in this realization. Some students learned that it’s ok to ask for help, and they’ve opened themselves up to seeking it out. For other students, reading Living Proof stories connected them for the first time to people in the math community who they had something in common with, and they’ve found role models amongst the Living Proof authors.
We’ve also heard about the impact this project has had on current and future teachers. Most of all, teachers didn’t realize how profoundly a kind or a dismissive word could affect a student. Throughout the book and the blog, teachers and students can find dozens of examples of mathematical microaggressions and microaffirmations. Learning about these small actions teachers can take to either help students feel like they belong or to make them feel unwelcome in the math community can impact their teaching effectiveness.
We’ve been gratified by the overwhelmingly positive response, first to the Living Proof book—which won the Euler Book Prize in 2022—and now to the Living Proof blog, which was initially hosted by AMS Blogs and is now published through MAA Math Values. However, we need to acknowledge the complexities of collecting and sharing stories from community members. As members of the editorial team, we seek out authors who are willing to share a story from a time when they struggled, persevered, and overcame. We ask our writers to be vulnerable, and this can pose challenges involving trauma and privilege.
First, retelling a story can require an author to relive a trauma. Depending on the circumstances of the piece, this may open the door to backlash, compounding the effects of the trauma. Second, privilege plays a deciding factor in how comfortable someone might feel sharing a personal story that has the potential to be seen by colleagues, students, administrators, and others. So, for authors who feel a strong sense of belonging and security in their position, it’s easier to share a personal story. For those who haven’t experienced the same level of privilege, sharing a story is far more vulnerable an act. Because of this, curating a diverse collection of impactful stories without being exploitative has been a challenge.
Recently in Living Authentically, Living Proof author and all around badass Candice Price wrote:
“What can we do to encourage people to live authentically and find their place in STEM where they genuinely belong? Sadly, this question often falls on the marginalized. We not only have to be the canary in the mine, signaling danger, we are also tasked with the repair.’’
Matthew Pons (left) and Allison Henrich (right)
After much reflection on the positive impacts of Living Proof as well as the challenges that have been inherent in this editorial work, we have decided it is the right time to sunset the blog. This does not mean it’s no longer important for people to share their stories. In fact, it feels to us like there are even more ways people can connect with and encourage each other through storytelling now than before our project began. The MAA Math Values blog is a great platform for the sharing of stories and personal reflections, as is the Journal of Humanistic Mathematics. Book projects like Testimonios: Stories of Latinx and Hispanic Mathematicians and Aspiring and Inspiring: Tenure and Leadership in Academic Mathematics are great examples of other ways to share our human experiences and perspectives with each other. We are also excited about live storytelling events, such as the Meet & Share events put on by the Coalition for the Amplification of Historically Excluded Mathematicians at the Joint Mathematics Meetings. If you’ll be attending MAA MathFest 2024, we hope you’ll look for a storytelling event we’re hosting called “Please pay attention to the person behind the curtain!” 1
We will always be committed to the fundamental aims of Living Proof, summarized by Stephen Kennedy in the preface, “We can create a mathematical world where demoralizing, punishing struggle is not necessary.” Finally, we’d like to end by extending our sincerest gratitude to everyone who has contributed to the Living Proof project over the years and to those who have considered contributing but decided against it. Whether they are told out loud or held safe inside, your stories matter.
1 If you’d like to tell a story of your own in this session, please contact one of us to sign up!