Bio: Nathan Alexander, PhD, is an assistant professor at Howard University where he holds a joint appointment in the Center for Applied Data Science and Analytics (CADSA) and the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in the School of Education. Prior to joining the faculty at Howard, Dr. Alexander was an assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics at Morehouse College. Dr. Alexander specializes in mathematical sociology and education and, more specifically, he utilizes historical frameworks to examine issues of context in probability theory, statistical data analysis, and mathematical education. He is the founder and director of the Quantitative Histories Workshop, where he promotes a community-centered approach to teaching and learning quantification in meaningfully disruptive ways. His work has appeared in the Notices of the American Mathematical Society, the Journal of Humanistic Mathematics, PRIMUS, and he is also a co-editor of an MAA Notes Volume on justice in calculus instruction. He holds BAs in mathematics and sociology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a master's degree in mathematics teaching from New York University, and a PhD in mathematics and education from Columbia University.

Additional information can be found here.

Topics include:

Histories of African Americans Connecting Mathematics and Society
Abstract: The world often looks to philosophy and the social sciences as opposed to the mathematical sciences to discuss and explore topics related to equity, collective action, and justice. Since the late 19th and early 20th century, however, African American scholars have taken social theories, which are strong in intuitive content, and expressed them in more formal terms using mathematics and data. Despite recent advances in discourses at the intersections of mathematics and social justice, the narratives and legacies of many of these African Americans who used mathematics to understand society, especially in the American South, have been lost. In addition to a discursive approach to their historical contributions, this invited talk will explore the formal mathematical foundations of models used by African Americans to examine inequities in history with the intention of developing more just futures. More specifically, this talk will connect the intuitive aspects of a global experience to understand the means through which mathematics served as an integral tool for African Americans to not only speak to their experiences but also to the logics of democracy, race, and racism.

Critstats: Reimagining Statistics Education Through Critical Quantitative Approaches
This lecture introduces "critstats" as a modern approach to teaching introductory statistics that leverages computational software programs to engage students in critical quantitative analysis. We will explore how integrating open source software tools into the curriculum enables students to clearly define any terms and goals, and apply statistical concepts to critical social issues, improving both technical proficiency and critical thinking. This talk will discuss the development of critstats and the use of diverse datasets and related resources to teach fundamental statistical methods while encouraging students to examine systemic inequalities and social challenges.