K G Valente Homepage

Kenneth G. Valente

Professor of Mathematics and University Studies (Joint Appointment)
Chair of First-Year Seminar, Global Engagements, and CORE Distinction Programs
Director of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) Studies

B.S. in Mathematics, California State University, San Luis Obispo, 1979
Ph.D. in Mathematics, University of Oregon, 1985
    Advisors: David K. Harrison and Marie A. Vitulli

Area of mathematical specialization: Algebraic structures

Current areas of academic interest:
    History of mathematics, science, and ideas, c. 1870 - 1930
    Historical scholarship in LGBTQ studies

Courses recently developed and offered

MATH 102 | CORE 143 (Scientific Perspectives), Introduction to Statistics
MATH 113, Multivariable Calculus
MATH 250, Number Theory & Mathematical Reasoning
MATH 320, Abstract Algebra I
MATH 421, Abstract Algebra II

CORE 121 (Scientific Perspectives), Mathematical Innovation and Social Contexts

LGBT 220, Lives, Communities, and Modes of Critical Inquiry: An Exploration in LGBTQ Studies
LGBT 303, Queer Identities & Global Discourses (Designated as Core Global Engagements)

Teaching assignment in Spring 2012

LGBT 220, Explorations in LGBTQ Studies
MATH 320, Abstract Algebra I

Professional memberships

British Society for the History of Science (BSHS)
History of Science Society (HSS)

Recent scholarship and current projects

"Transgression and transcendence: Flatland as a response to 'A New Philosophy'." Nineteenth Century Contexts 26.1 (2004): 61-77.

"'A finite universe?': Riemannian geometry and the Modernist theology of Ernest William Barnes." British Journal for the History of Science 38.2 (2005): 197-217.

A portion of this research was presented at the annual conference of the BSHS, July 2003, York .

"'Who will explain the explanation?': The ambivalent reception of higher dimensional space in the British Spiritualist press, 1875-1900." Victorian Periodicals Review 41.2 (2008): 124-49.

A portion of this research was presented at the annual conference of the HSS, November 2006, Vancouver B.C. An earlier version of this research was presented at the annual conference of the BSHS, July, 2006, Canterbury.

"Triangulating the contributions of George Salmon to Victorian disputes on mathematics, evolution, and liberal theology." Nineteenth Century Contexts 31.3 (2009): 251-69.

A portion of this research was presented in January 2004 as part of Colgate University's Division of Natural Sciences & Mathematics Colloquium Series. Portions were also included in the program of the annual conference of the BSHS, June 2004, Liverpool.

"Giving wings to logic: Mary Everest Boole's propagation and fulfilment of a legacy." British Journal for the History of Science 43.1 (2010): 49-74.

A portion of this research was presented at Connecting Disciplines: The Sixth Joint Meeting of the BSHS, Canadian Society for the History and Philosophy of Science, and HSS, July 2008, Keble College, Oxford.

"Mary Everest Boole: The Laws of Thought and Women’s Spheres of Influence," a paper read at the Celebrating Women's Writing conference, Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge, June 2010.

Entries on "Mathematics as Religion," "Religious Mathematicians," and "Religious Writings" for the Encyclopedia of Mathematics and Society. Ed. Sarah Greenwald and Jill Thomley. Pasadena, CA: Salem. 2011.

"Alan Turning: Reflecting on the Life, Work, and Popular Representations of a Queer Mathematician." Mathematics in Popular Culture: Appearances in Film, Fiction, Games, Television and Other Media. Ed. Jessica and Elizabeth Sklar. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2012.

The fourth dimension in theosophical and esoteric discourses, 1870-1920. Manuscript.

Promoting and contesting the 'New Infinite' in spiritual contexts, 1880-1920. In progress.

Public and lay engagements with mathematical innovations c. 1870-1930.