Interrogating Innate Intelligence Racial Narratives: Students' Construction of Counter-Stories Within the History of Mathematics

This paper utilizes poststructural theory to analyze student artifacts that were collected from a history of mathematics course. The course was designed to counter three types of mathematical narratives, relating to: 1) race, 2) intelligence, and 3) innateness. To address these narratives, the course highlighted the contributions of communities of color and other minoritized populations in the historical development of mathematics. It also explicitly challenged dominant constructions of mathematical history and problematized their use to further the power and privilege of particular groups. Analyses of student artifacts showed that this course provided space for students to defy innate intelligence racial narratives and strengthen their own counter-stories.