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CMS + CSHPM = 50-Plus Years of Great Partnership

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Cover Article
February 2025 TOC icon
Cover Article
February 2025 (Vol. 57, No. 1)
Amy Ackerberg-Hastings
(Co-editor, CSHPM Notes)

Since 2014, the Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) has provided a column called CSHPM Notes to Notes of the Canadian Mathematical Society (a list through December 2024 appears below; don’t miss the latest installment by Tom Drucker in this issue). These short essays have shared glimpses into the practices of historians and philosophers with Canada’s mathematicians; they have also revealed the astounding variety of CSHPM members’ research interests and professional activities.

However, the 2013 invitation from then-CMS Executive Director Johan Rudnick that led to the creation of CSHPM Notes did not materialize from the ether. Rather, the societies have been intertwined since before CSHPM existed. Kenneth O. May of the University of Toronto (UT) and other historians of mathematics were organizing sessions at Canadian Mathematical Congress conferences by the early 1970s, and they contemplated holding CSHPM’s founding meeting at the 1974 Summer Meeting at Université Laval before conducting it a few days earlier at the Learned Societies Conference at UT. Special sessions on the history of mathematics continued at CMS meetings, and CMS and CSHPM held a joint conference at McMaster University in 1977.

Long-time members Tom Archibald and Louis Charbonneau wrote “Mathematics in Canada before 1945: A Preliminary Survey” for CMS’s semicentennial in 1995 [1]; joint meetings resumed in 2000 at McMaster University and in 2005 at the University of Waterloo; and CSHPM organized a long-running special session on history and philosophy at Winter Meetings in the 21st century. CSHPM’s 2005 collection of many of its keynote lectures (named for May) appeared under the CMS Books in Mathematics imprint [2].

In addition to these decades of shared efforts to further the history and philosophy of mathematics in Canada, CSHPM welcomes CMS members to join in any of its multiple endeavors that are occurring right now. We will be meeting at George Brown College in Toronto May 31–June 2 with the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences Congress. The program features a general session for any topic related to the history or philosophy of mathematics and a special session on “conceptual change in mathematics.” Abstracts were due February 1, but we may be able to accommodate late arrivals; write to Rob Bradley and Amy Ackerberg-Hastings for the general session and Nic Fillion for the special session. Register to attend here.

CSHPM also invites article submissions for its series of collected volumes with Birkhäuser/Springer, Annals of the Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics. Editors Maria Zack and David Waszek consider research in the areas of history and philosophy of mathematics as well as pedagogy for teaching the history and philosophy of mathematics. Typical papers are 5000–7000 words, but length can be flexible. If your institutional library has a Springer ebook subscription, you may be able to read the previous volumes for free.

A newsletter comes out twice a year with information and column-style articles of interest to historians and philosophers of mathematics; please send materials to Amy Ackerberg-Hastings. An online colloquium open to all is convened occasionally. Planning or participating in an event in the history or philosophy of mathematics? Let me know and I will share it with our email list (ca 150 members) and Facebook page (ca 1600 followers). Finally, while we welcome members any time, now is the perfect opportunity to sign up and learn more. Dues are as low as $10 for student, retired, unwaged, and developing nations members and $30 for regular members. Add-ons are available until March 1 and include reduced subscriptions to Historia Mathematica, Philosophia Mathematica, and SCIAMVS (devoted to studies of the sources of pre-modern exact sciences) as well as reciprocal memberships with the Canadian Society for the History and Philosophy of Science and the British Society for the History of Mathematics.

In sum (pun intended), adding together CMS and CSHPM has resulted in rich scholarship and academic collegiality. We look forward to continuing this wonderful partnership for many years to come.

References

[1] Archibald, Thomas, and Louis Charboneau. (1995) Mathematics in Canada before 1945: A Preliminary Survey. In Mathematics in Canada/Les mathématiques au Canada, edited by Peter Fillmore, 1–43. Canadian Mathematical Society/Société mathématique du Canada 1945–1995, vol. 1. Ottawa: CMS and University of Toronto Press. A version in French followed on pages 45–90.

[2] Van Brummelen, Glen, and Michael Kinyon, eds. (2005) Mathematics and the Historian’s Craft: The Kenneth O. May Lectures. CMS Books in Mathematics, vol. 21. New York: Canadian Mathematical Society and Springer.

Chronological List of CSHPM Notes, 2014–2024

  1. Tom Archibald, “Mediaeval and Renaissance algebra,” March/April 2014, pp. 6–7, https://notes.math.ca/archives/Notesv46n2.pdf.
  2. Craig Fraser, the 2013 Kenneth O. May Prizes, September 2014, pp. 16–17, https://notes.math.ca/archives/Notesv46n4.pdf.
  3. David Orenstein, “Archives for History of Mathematics,” October/November 2014, pp 18–19, https://notes.math.ca/archives/Notesv46n5.pdf.
  4. Tom Drucker, “Who Hijacked the Philosophy of Mathematics?” December 2014, pp. 16–17, https://notes.math.ca/archives/Notesv46n6.pdf. 
  5. Glen Van Brummelen, “Why Use History in a Mathematics Classroom?” February 2015, pp. 16–17, https://notes.math.ca/archives/Notesv47n1.pdf.
  6. Amy Ackerberg-Hastings, “Online Collections of Mathematical Objects,” March/April 2015, pp. 18–19, https://notes.math.ca/archives/Notesv47n2pdf. 
  7. Len Berggren, “The New History of Ancient Mathematics,” June 2015, pp. 18–19, https://notes.math.ca/archives/Notesv47n3.pdf.
  8. Robert Thomas, “Remarks on the History of CSHPM, History of Mathematics (HOM), and Philosophy of Mathematics (POM),” September 2015, pp. 15–16, https://notes.math.ca/archives/Notesv47n4.pdf.
  9. Glen Van Brummelen, “History of Mathematics and the Forgotten Century,” December 2015, pp. 14–15, https://notes.math.ca/archives/Notesv47n6.pdf.
  10. Amy Shell-Gellasch and John Thoo, “A New Look at General-Education Mathematics Courses,” February 2016, pp. 14–15, https://notes.math.ca/archives/Notesv48n1.pdf. 
  11. Amy Ackerberg-Hastings, “The Value of ‘Dated’ Histories of Mathematics,” March/April 2016, pp. 18–19, https://notesmath.ca/archives/Notesv48n2.pdf.
  12. David Orenstein, “Mathematics in ‘Jazz Age’ Toronto,” June 2016, pp. 18–19, https://notes.math.ca/archives/Notesv48n3.pdf.
  13. Sylvia Nickerson, “How Objects Reveal Mathematical Culture,” September 2016, pp. 18–19, https://notes.math.ca/archives/Notesv48n4.pdf.
  14. Gregg De Young, “Lessons from Old Textbooks: Introducing Modern Geometry to the Middle East,” October/November 2016, pp. 16–17, https://notes.math.ca/archives/Notesv48n5.pdf.
  15. Robert H. C. Moir, “Exploring Epistemology of Applied Math: Where Mathematicians and Philosophers Meet,” December 2016, pp. 18–20, https://notes.math.ca/archives/Notesv48n6.pdf.
  16. Michael Molinsky, “Bonaventura Cavalieri and the CSHPM Logo,” February 2017, pp. 18–19, https://notes.math.ca/archives/Notesv49n1.pdf.
  17. Tom Drucker, “The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Logic,” March/April 2017, pp. 14–15, https://notes.math.ca/archives/Notesv49n2.pdf.
  18. David Orenstein, “Bertrand Russell Archives at McMaster University,” June 2017, pp. 18–19, https://notes.mathca/archives/Notesv49n3.pdf.
  19. Robert Thomas, “Constructions on a Spherical Blackboard,” September 2017, pp. 16–17, https://notes.math.ca/archives/Notesv49n4.pdf.
  20. Duncan J. Melville, “Learning Mesopotamian Mathematics,” October/November 2017, pp. 18–19, https://notes.math.ca/archives/Notesv49n5.pdf.
  21. Dan Curtin and Danny Otero, “ORESME turns 20: how a reading group in the history of mathematics thrives,” December 2017, pp. 18–19, https://notes.math.ca/archives/Notesv49n6.pdf.
  22. Craig Fraser, “Library Classification in Mathematics,” February 2018, pp. 18–19, https://notes.math.ca/archives/Notesv50n1.pdf.
  23. Jean-Pierre Marquis, “Mathematical Structures: Behind and Beyond,” March/April 2018, pp. 16–17, https://notesmath.ca/archives/Notesv50n2.pdf.
  24. Roger Godard, “Joseph Fourier on Convolution and the Memory Problem,” June 2018, pp. 18–19, https://notes.math.ca/archives/Notesv50n3.pdf.
  25. Mariya Boyko, “Theory Over Practice in Soviet Mathematics Textbooks of the 1950s,” September 2018, pp. 20–21, https://notes.math.ca/archives/Notesv50n4.pdf.
  26. Amy Ackerberg-Hastings, “Trivia, Tradition, Truth: Playfair’s Axiom,” October/November 2018, pp. 16–17, https://notes.math.ca/archives/Notesv50n5.pdf.
  27. Janet Heine Barnett, “Why Use Primary Sources in a Mathematics Classroom?” December 2018, pp. 16–17, https://notes.math.ca/archives/Notesv50n6.pdf.
  28. Ubiratan D’Ambrosio, “The Program Ethnomathematics: Basic Ideas,” February 2019, pp. 10–11, https://notes.math.ca/archives/Notesv51n1.pdf. 
  29. Eamon Darnell and Aaron Thomas-Bolduc, “(Writing About) Takeuti’s Well-ordering Proof: A Collaboration Story,” March/April 2019, pp. 12–13, https://notes.math.ca/archives/Notesv51n2.pdf. 
  30. Craig Fraser and Andrew Schroter, “Past, Present, and Anachronism in the History of Mathematics,” June 2019, pp. 16–17, https://notes.math.ca/archives/Notesv51n3.pdf.
  31. Judy Green and Jeanne LaDuke, “Canadian Women Who Earned PhDs in Mathematics before 1940,” September 2019, pp. 14–15, https://notes.math.ca/archives/Notesv51n4.pdf. 
  32. Robert H. C.  Moir, “Investigating the Structure of Inference in Scientific Practice with ‘Effective Logic’,” October/November 2019, pp.16–18, https://notesmath.ca/archives/Notesv51n5.pdf.
  33. Glen Van Brummelen, “On the Path to Community: Experiencing a Summer Math Camp,” December 2019,  pp. 12–13, https://notes.math.ca/archives/Notesv51n6.pdf. 
  34. Mariya Boyko, “Soviet Mathematics Education in the Late 1970s—New Concerns,” February 2020, pp. 12–13, https://notes.math.ca/en/article/cshpm-notes/.
  35. Bill Hackborn, “The Two Cultures of Mathematics,” March/April 2020, pp. 15–16,  https://notes.math.ca/en/article/the-two-cultures-of-mathematics/.
  36. Roger Godard and John de Boer, “An Homage to Gauss and His Model of the Earth’s Magnetic Field,” June 2020, pp. 16–19, https://notes.math.ca/en/article/an-homage-to-gauss-and-his-model-of-the-earths-magnetic-field/.
  37. Adrian Rice, “Ada Lovelace: New Light on Her Mathematics,” September 2020, pp. 11–13, https://notes.math.ca/en/article/ada-lovelace-new-light-on-her-mathematics/.
  38. Maritza Branker, “Taking a Cue from Cauchy,” October/November 2020, pp. 8–9, https://notes.math.ca/en/article/taking-a-cue-from-cauchy/.
  39. Amy Ackerberg-Hastings, “Ephemeral Mathematics,” December 2020, pp. 15–18, https://notes.math.ca/en/article/ephemeral-mathematics/.
  40. Brittany Carlson, “Mary Boole’s Anti-Math-Anxiety Pedagogy and the Use of Narrative, Ephemera, and Mathematical Discovery,” February 2021, https://notes.math.ca/en/article/mary-booles-anti-math-anxiety-pedagogy-and-the-use-of-narrative-ephemera-and-mathematical-discovery/ .
  41. Craig Fraser and Michiyo Nakane, “A Collaborative Research Project in the History of Mathematics: The History of Canonical Transformations in Hamilton-Jacobi Theory,” March/April 2021,https://notes.math.ca/en/article/a-collaborative-research-project-in-the-history-of-mathematics-the-history-of-canonical-transformations-in-hamilton-jacobi-theory/ .
  42. Jacqueline Feke, “The Ethics of Ancient Mathematics: The Case of Claudius Ptolemy,” June 2021, https://notes.math.ca/en/article/the-ethics-of-ancient-mathematics-the-case-of-claudius-ptolemy/ .
  43. Jean-Pierre Marquis, “Bourbaki, Structuralism, and Categories,” September 2021, https://notes.math.ca/en/article/bourbaki-structuralism-and-categories/ .
  44. Duncan Melville, “Hidden Mathematics,” October/November 2021, https://notes.math.ca/en/article/hidden-mathematics/ .
  45. David Orenstein, “A Mathematical Centennial: The December 1921 Toronto Meeting of the AAAS,” December 2021, https://notes.math.ca/en/article/a-mathematical-centennial-the-december-1921-toronto-meeting-of-the-aaas/ .
  46. David Bellhouse, “William Playfair’s Statistical Graphs,” February 2022, https://notes.math.ca/en/article/william-playfairs-statistical-graphs/ .
  47. David Zitarelli, “Profiles of Early Canadian Mathematicians,” March/April 2022, https://notes.math.ca/en/article/profiles-of-early-canadian-mathematicians/ .
  48. Jeffrey Oaks, “Arabic Arithmetic in Context: al-Hawārī’s Essential Commentary,” June 2022, https://notes.math.ca/en/article/arabic-arithmetic-in-context-al-hawaris-essential-commentary/ .
  49. Michael Molinsky, “Original Sources of Some Common Quotations,” September 2022, https://notes.math.ca/en/article/the-original-sources-of-some-common-quotations/ .
  50. Thomas Drucker, “Why Everyone Loves History of Mathematics . . . But Philosophy of Mathematics is an Acquired Taste,” November 2022,  https://notes.math.ca/en/article/why-everyone-loves-history-of-mathematics-but-philosophy-of-mathematics-is-an-acquired-taste/ .
  51. Brigitte Stenhouse, “Quaternions at Twilight: Remembering Mary Somerville 150 Years After Her Death,” December 2022, https://notes.math.ca/en/article/quaternions-at-twilight-remembering-mary-somerville-150-years-after-her-death/ .
  52. Amy Shell-Gellasch, “Catching the Eye: Using Images to Bring History to Life in the Classroom,” February 2023, https://notes.math.ca/en/article/catching-the-eye-using-images-to-bring-history-to-life-in-the-classroom/ .
  53. Craig Fraser, “The Birth of Modern Cosmology,” March 2023, https://notes.math.ca/en/article/the-birth-of-modern-cosmology/ .
  54. Amy Ackerberg-Hastings, “When Organizational Histories, Anniversaries, and Women in STEM Intersect,” June 2023, https://notes.math.ca/en/article/when-organizational-histories-anniversaries-and-women-in-stem-intersect-1/ .
  55. Jessie Hall, “Computing Machines and the Philosophy of Mind,” September 2023, https://notes.math.ca/en/article/column-55-on-computing-machines-and-philosophy-of-mind/ .
  56. Eugene Boman and Robert Rogers, “Teaching Calculus Through History’s Lens,” October 2023, https://notes.math.ca/en/article/teaching-calculus-through-historys-lens/ .
  57. Christopher Baltus, “Geometric Transformations, 1800–1855,” December 2023, https://notes.math.ca/en/article/geometric-transformations-1800-1855/ .
  58. Hardy Grant (posthumous), “How I Learned to Love the History of Mathematics,” February 2024, https://notes.math.ca/en/article/how-i-learned-to-love-the-history-of-mathematics/ .
  59. Roger Godard, “The Histories of Mathematics,” March/April 2024, https://notes.math.ca/en/article/the-histories-of-mathematics/ .
  60. Michael Molinsky, “50 Years of CSHPM,” June 2024, https://notes.math.ca/en/article/50-years-of-cshpm/ .
  61. Tessa Ng, “Mathematical Constitution and Theory Uniqueness in Physics,” September 2024, https://notes.math.ca/en/article/mathematical-constitution-and-theory-uniqueness-in-physics/ .
  62. Zoe Ashton, “Rigor in Context,” October/November 2024, https://notes.math.ca/en/article/rigor-in-context/ .
  63. Brenda Davison, “The Surprising Role of the Pendulum in Stokes’s Discovery of New Physical Theory and Use of Divergent Series,” December 2024, https://notes.math.ca/en/article/the-surprising-role-of-the-pendulum-in-stokess-discovery-of-new-physical-theory-and-use-of-divergent-series/ .
Email the author: aackerbe@verizon.net
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