Mathematics at Ithaca College gained a founding department member in 1960 when Marcia Ascher began her tenure at the institution. Over the following decades, she established herself as a significant figure in the field of ethnomathematics, documenting how quantitative and logical systems develop across diverse cultural landscapes until her retirement as professor emerita in 1995.
Academic Foundations
Born in New York City in 1935, Ascher pursued her undergraduate studies at Queens College, City University of New York, graduating in 1956. She continued her education at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she earned a master's degree in 1960. That same year, she moved to Ithaca, New York, alongside her husband, Robert Ascher, an anthropologist who had secured a faculty position at Cornell University.
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Ascher joined the mathematics faculty at Ithaca College in 1960. As a founder of the department, she contributed to its development for thirty-five years. During her career, she shifted her professional focus toward ethnomathematics, a discipline examining the relationship between mathematical concepts and cultural practices. Her academic contributions persisted until she concluded her active teaching role, transitioning to the status of professor emerita upon her retirement in 1995.
Publications and Research
In 1981, Ascher co-authored Code of the Quipu: A Study in Media, Mathematics, and Culture with Robert Ascher, which the University of Michigan Press later republished as Mathematics of the Incas: Code of the Quipu in 1997. She subsequently wrote Ethnomathematics: A Multicultural View of Mathematical Ideas, published by Brooks/Cole in 1991, and Mathematics Elsewhere: An Exploration of Ideas across Cultures, issued by Princeton University Press in 2002. This final volume received an honorable mention in the 2002 PROSE Awards for mathematics and statistics. The Mathematical Association of America’s Basic Library List Committee recommended all three works for inclusion in undergraduate mathematics libraries.
Fast facts
- Born: 1935, New York City
- Died: 10 August 2013
- Undergraduate Degree: Queens College, 1956
- Master's Degree: University of California, Los Angeles, 1960
- Professional Field: Ethnomathematics
- Primary Institution: Ithaca College
Questions readers ask
What specific contribution did Ascher make to mathematics?
She was a pioneer in ethnomathematics, documenting and analyzing mathematical ideas across different cultures.
Which of her books received a PROSE Award honorable mention?
Her 2002 book, Mathematics Elsewhere: An Exploration of Ideas across Cultures, received an honorable mention in the PROSE Awards.
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