Resumen

In this essay, I argue that drama can be put in the service of mathematics education to promote social justice and human rights. The use of basic and simple theatre techniques in the classroom, in particular those involving mapping activities that bring people, land, and numbers together, can enhance the role that mathematics education plays in the fight for justice across the globe. In a world where ethnic cleansing, refugee and immigration chaos, and climate catastrophes are on the rise, human suffering is widespread. It affects 7 billion people worldwide, that is, 99 percent of the population living on planet Earth. Meanwhile, the combined wealth of the richest 1 percent will very likely overtake that of the other 99 percent of people in 2016. The numbers clearly show the situation is quickly getting worse, not better, by any global or local measure. What can we do? This article presents an introduction of a promising attempt sprouting worldwide at bringing mathematics and theatre together to promote a better understanding of the ways in which mathematics can be embodied, brought into our body and under our skin, in order to empower communities to make sense of the world we live in and help create it.