Gender, Discourse, and Teaching in Mathematics in Higher Education: A Look at the North of Minas Gerais

Abstract This article seeks to problematize the formation and performance of Mathematics teachers in Higher Education in North Minas Gerais, considering the State University of Montes Claros (Unimontes) and the Federal Institute of Northern Minas Gerais (IFNMG) as a research locus. Five teachers who teach Mathematics subjects in the Mathematics Degree courses at these institutions were interviewed. Among them, two are located in Unimontes, and three in the IFNMG. For our study, we mobilized the Oral History methodology, using an interview script that allowed us to hear, know, and deepen in the teachers' life stories, revealing their knowledge and practices, as well as how these were and are permeated for gender relations. We emphasize that, in a recurring way, we heard in the teachers' narratives that the naturalistic and Cartesian discourses, the social and sexual division of work and the masculine habitus of Mathematics were and continue to be the challenges they encounter to maintain themselves and progress in their careers, since they were established, asymmetrically, according to the mold of the macho, patriarchal, and androcentric culture that permeates the sphere of knowledge.