Marcia Alper Ascher (April 23, 1935 – August 10, 2013) was an American mathematician, and a leader and pioneer in

ethnomathematics In mathematics education, ethnomathematics is the study of the relationship between mathematics and culture. Often associated with "cultures without written expression", it may also be defined as "the mathematics which is practised among identifiab ...

. She was a

professor emerita ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

of mathematics at

Ithaca College Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca (town), New York, Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a Music school, conservatory of music. Ithaca College is known for its media-related programs and entertainment program ...

Life

Ascher was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, the daughter of a glazier and a secretary. She graduated from

Queens College, City University of New York Queens College (QC) is a public college in the New York City borough of Queens. Part of the City University of New York system, Queens College occupies an campus primarily located in Flushing. Queens College was established in 1937 and offe ...

in 1956, and married

Robert Ascher Robert Ascher (April 28, 1931 – January 8, 2014) was an American archaeologist, anthropologist, ethnomathematician, and experimental filmmaker. He is best known for his contributions to experimental archaeology and for his collaborative work o ...

, an anthropologist graduating from Queens College in the same year. They both became graduate students at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

; she completed a master's degree in 1960, and moved with her husband to

Ithaca, New York Ithaca () is a city in and the county seat of Tompkins County, New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York (state), New York, Ithaca is the largest community in the Ithaca metrop ...

, where he had found a faculty position at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

. She joined the mathematics department at Ithaca College in 1960, as one of the founders of the department. She retired as full professor emerita in 1995. She died on August 10, 2013.

Books

With her husband, Ascher co-authored the book '' Code of the Quipu: A Study in Media, Mathematics, and Culture'' (University of Michigan Press, 1981); it was republished in 1997 by Dover Books as ''Mathematics of the Incas: Code of the Quipu''. She was also the sole author of two more books on ethnomathematics, ''Ethnomathematics: A Multicultural View of Mathematical Ideas'' (Brooks/Cole, 1991) and ''Mathematics Elsewhere: An Exploration of Ideas across Cultures'' (Princeton University Press, 2002). The Basic Library List Committee of the

Mathematical Association of America The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) is a professional society that focuses on mathematics accessible at the undergraduate level. Members include university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary edu ...

has recommended the inclusion of all three books in undergraduate mathematics libraries. ''Mathematics Elsewhere'' won an honorable mention in the 2002

PROSE Awards The PROSE Awards (where ''PROSE'' is an abbreviation for "professional and scholarly excellence") are presented by the Association of American Publishers' (AAP) Professional and Scholarly Publishing (PSP) Division. Presented since 1976, the awar ...

in the mathematics and statistics category.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ascher, Marcia 1935 births 2013 deaths 20th-century American mathematicians 21st-century American mathematicians 21st-century American women mathematicians Ethnomathematicians Queens College, City University of New York alumni Ithaca College faculty 20th-century American women academics 20th-century American academics