CSHPM Online Colloquium

The Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (http://www.cshpm.org/) and the History of Mathematics Special Interest Group of the MAA invite members as well as the broader scholarly community to the next talk in our joint online colloquium series via Zoom. Participants are encouraged to become CSHPM members (for as little as $10-$30/year, depending on your employment status), but it is not required. Non-members can get regular updates on our activities by liking us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/cshpmschpm). The talk will last 30 minutes, followed by a Q&A.

Irise Clever,University of Chicago, will deliver the 31st talk of the CSHPM/Online Colloquium series.
DATE: November 15th
TIME: Vancouver 11:00; Montreal/Toronto 14:00

TITLE: The Making of the Modern Statistical Identity: From Skull Science to Biometrics

ABSTRACT: In this presentation, I uncover an overlooked genealogy of biometrics, tracing it back to early 20th-century race science and the rise of statistical thinking about human identity. Before biometrics became a technology of controlling human identity, it was a science aimed at understanding human diversity, specifically racial diversity. I examine the emergence of craniometry in the 19th century and how its methodologies paved the way for a novel approach to racial anthropology driven by mathematical statistics in the early 20th century. Finally, I explore the postwar development of computerized anthropology.

Please distribute this information to all who might be interested. The information to join the session via Zoom is as follows:

Topic: CSHPM Colloquium with Iris Clever (University of Chicago)
Time: November 15th, 2024 11:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://pitzer.zoom.us/j/88324835092

Meeting ID: 883 2483 5092
Password: none