What may we learn if we view mathematics as a set of practices such as estimating, measuring, counting, proportioning, and so on, and as embedded in practices like sculpting, teaching, accounting, and more? What does this reveal about the role of computational and mathematical practices in shaping our social and political lives?
This archive showcases our ongoing explorations of these questions, particularly in the context of South India. We welcome you to engage with our materials, ask questions, and enrich the archive. Please reach out if you'd like to contribute.
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One of our prominent lines of inquiry for us has been to investigate the relations between texts, schooling, and practice. The learners of tiṇṇai schools, which were sites for training in village accountant as well as revenue accountant in parts of precolonial Tamil Nadu and Keralam, produced eṇcuvaṭi (number primers) to mark the completion of their learning. While we cannot say for certain whether texts in the kaṇakkatikāram tradition were used as pedagogical texts in tiṇṇai schools, there is sufficient evidence to suggest that the contents of these texts mirror the material transacted in tiṇṇai schools as well as the professional needs of the workplace, particularly those of village accountants. Various revenue and mercantile accounts we have collected from different parts of Tamil Nadu were produced by those trained in these tiṇṇai schools.
Thus, contrasting and comparing items in the following collection offers a way to understand the relationship between texts, schooling, and practice in a particular historical context, as well as the potential consequences mathematical practices may have had for the general public (for instance, through the profession of the village accountant). For further reading, see Senthil Babu (2022).
