This grant supports a three-day symposium 27-29 May, 1999, entitled "Mathematics Unbound: The Evolution of an International Mathematical Community, 1800-1945," sponsored by the University of Virginia as part of its "Emphasis Year in the History of Mathematics." Co-organized by Karen Hunger Parshall (Departments of History and Mathematics, University of Virginia) and Adrian C. Rice (Middlesex University [UK]; Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the University of Virginia, 1998-1999), the symposium aims to shed light on the historical processes and interactions involved in the development of what has become an international community of mathematicians. The symposium is divided into two parts: nine forty-five-minute plenary lectures by established researchers on questions involving the internationalization of mathematics; and twelve twenty-minute talks by graduate students as well as junior and senior members of the field. Each day will culminate with a moderated discussion period. Among the topics analyzed are: --- the international influence of national institutions and standards of mathematics education; --- the growth and dissemination of a shared research ethos; --- the internationalization of national research outlets such as research journals and societies like the American Mathematical Society; --- the rise of international initiatives such as the International Congresses and the International Mathematical Union; and --- the role of refugee mathematicians in the internationalization of mathematical standards and research initiatives. This meeting should allow historians of mathematics to take a major step forward in understanding the historical factors at work in the internationalization of mathematics. By bringing together an international group of established and aspiring scholars in the field of the history of mathematics, it should also provide a unique educational venue and an opportunity for students to meet and get to know some of the leaders in their field. Moreover, the resulting book-length volume will present a codification of those insights and will (the PIs hope) spur further research on the internationalization of mathematic in particular and of science in general by suggesting fruitful areas of historical exploration.
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