Who Counts?

The Mathematics of Death and Life After Genocide

Nonfiction, History, Americas, Central America, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Anthropology
Cover of the book Who Counts? by Diane M. Nelson, Duke University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Diane M. Nelson ISBN: 9780822375074
Publisher: Duke University Press Publication: November 5, 2015
Imprint: Duke University Press Books Language: English
Author: Diane M. Nelson
ISBN: 9780822375074
Publisher: Duke University Press
Publication: November 5, 2015
Imprint: Duke University Press Books
Language: English

In Who Counts? Diane M. Nelson explores the social life of numbers, teasing out the myriad roles math plays in Guatemalan state violence, economic exploitation, and disenfranchisement, as well as in Mayan revitalization and grassroots environmental struggles. In the aftermath of thirty-six years of civil war, to count—both numerically and in the sense of having value—is a contested and qualitative practice of complex calculations encompassing war losses, migration, debt, and competing understandings of progress. Nelson makes broad connections among seemingly divergent phenomena, such as debates over reparations for genocide victims, Ponzi schemes, and antimining movements. Challenging the presumed objectivity of Western mathematics, Nelson shows how it flattens social complexity and becomes a raced, classed, and gendered skill that colonial powers considered beyond the grasp of indigenous peoples. Yet the Classic Maya are famous for the precision of their mathematics, including conceptualizing zero long before Europeans. Nelson shows how Guatemala's indigenous population is increasingly returning to Mayan numeracy to critique systemic inequalities with the goal of being counted—in every sense of the word. 

 

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In Who Counts? Diane M. Nelson explores the social life of numbers, teasing out the myriad roles math plays in Guatemalan state violence, economic exploitation, and disenfranchisement, as well as in Mayan revitalization and grassroots environmental struggles. In the aftermath of thirty-six years of civil war, to count—both numerically and in the sense of having value—is a contested and qualitative practice of complex calculations encompassing war losses, migration, debt, and competing understandings of progress. Nelson makes broad connections among seemingly divergent phenomena, such as debates over reparations for genocide victims, Ponzi schemes, and antimining movements. Challenging the presumed objectivity of Western mathematics, Nelson shows how it flattens social complexity and becomes a raced, classed, and gendered skill that colonial powers considered beyond the grasp of indigenous peoples. Yet the Classic Maya are famous for the precision of their mathematics, including conceptualizing zero long before Europeans. Nelson shows how Guatemala's indigenous population is increasingly returning to Mayan numeracy to critique systemic inequalities with the goal of being counted—in every sense of the word. 

 

More books from Duke University Press

Cover of the book G-Strings and Sympathy by Diane M. Nelson
Cover of the book Cultures without Culturalism by Diane M. Nelson
Cover of the book Aircraft Stories by Diane M. Nelson
Cover of the book The Becoming of Time by Diane M. Nelson
Cover of the book Nation Within by Diane M. Nelson
Cover of the book New Organs Within Us by Diane M. Nelson
Cover of the book Democracy and Other Neoliberal Fantasies by Diane M. Nelson
Cover of the book The Return of the Native by Diane M. Nelson
Cover of the book Italian Signs, American Streets by Diane M. Nelson
Cover of the book Power Lines by Diane M. Nelson
Cover of the book Writing Culture and the Life of Anthropology by Diane M. Nelson
Cover of the book The Search for the Codex Cardona by Diane M. Nelson
Cover of the book Imperial Decline by Diane M. Nelson
Cover of the book Unfinished by Diane M. Nelson
Cover of the book Situatedness, or, Why We Keep Saying Where We’re Coming From by Diane M. Nelson
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy