Shared Research Practice π©π½π
Our archive does not draw a sharp distinction between research and collection. Often both run concurrent. Some of our earliest and most extensively studied materials emerged from Dr. Senthil Babu’s efforts to document and contextualise learning at tinnai schools, the work of the village accountant, and kaαΉakkatikΔram texts.
Over time, the focus of the expanded to the making of an archive of practices. While this site foregrounds mathematical practices embedded in various occupational settings, we are also building other related archives.
As stated in the introduction to the archive, our primary research intent is to move beyond the dichotomy of knowledge and practice, and beyond the notion that texts are primary sources when it comes to researching histories of knowledge. We pursue this through the reconstruction of practices, public history, the study of historical artefacts, texts, and objects, oral-history documentation, workshops, and conversations with contemporary practitioners. Each of these has become part of our methodology, and we have carried them out in different contexts.
Over the years we have carried out many projects in collaboration with various other researchers and institutions. While some projects focused on collecting materials, others have been devoted to contextualising texts and practices and examining the role of mathematical practices in social life.