| Instructor: |
Davar Khoshnevisan (Contact Information | Office Hours) |
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| Time/Place: |
MWF 10:00 a.m.-11:42 a.m., AEB 350 (The room has been
changed from the first announcement in the university schedule.
We will only need to meet until 1:42 in order to make up
for the lectures on the week of June 28th, which are not held.
But we have the room until noon.) |
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| Text: |
The required text for this course is:
- The History of Mathematics, David M. Burton
McGraw Hill, Seventh ed., 2007.
The following list of
recommended reading material is on two-hour hold at the main library:
- (Recommended) A History of Mathematics, Carl Boyer;
- (Recommended) The Historical Roots of Elementary Mathematics,
N. H. Bunt;
- (Recommended) An Introduction to the History of Mathematics,
Howard Eves;
- (Recommended) A History of Mathematics,
Victor Katz;
- (Recommended) Mathematical Thought from Ancient to Modern Times,
Morris Kline;
- (Recommended) A Concise History of Mathematics, Dirk J. Struik;
- (Recommended) A Sourcebook of Mathematics, Dirk J. Struik.
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| Description: |
The development of mathematics is generally considered to be
one of humanity's greatest intellectual accomplishments.
This course provides an overview of select aspects of a
quite-rich history of mathematics; it is impossible to cover
the history of mathematics in a one-semester course [or a reasonably-sized
book, for that matter]. We focus mainly on the period
from 3000 BC into the 19th century,
but might deviate from this plan according to students' interests. |
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| Grading: |
Your grade is based on the following (500 total possible points):
- Exams (300 points maximum):
1 midterm and 1 final (150 points each; each covers
the material from the assigned readings, problems, and classroom
discussions since the preceding exam).
All exams are held in the classroom. The midterm is held from
10:00-12:30, and the final is from 10:00-12:00.
- Term Papers (200 points maximum/ 100 points each): 2 typewritten papers.
See the grading
rubric for the grading criteria
for the papers.
- Classroom participation (200 points maximum):
This portion of the semester grade is based on attendance,
preparation, and level and quality of participation.
The following "curve" is used for grading:
| A: | 93%-100% |
A-: | 90%-92% |
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| B+: | 87%-89% |
B: | 83%-86% |
B-: | 80%-82% |
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| C+: | 77%-79% |
C: | 73%-76% |
C-: | 70%-72% |
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| D+: | 67%-69% |
D: | 63%-66% |
D-: | 60%-62% |
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| E: | 0%-59% |
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|
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| Schedule: |
A tentative course schedule can be found
here. |
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| Seeking Help: |
To find help, the students are encouraged to visit the
instructor during the designated drop-in office hour
(web link),
schedule an appointment
(web link), or
visit the fine (no-cost) tutoring center
(web link)
of the department of mathematics. The tutoring center
is centered at the T. B. Rushing Undergraduate Student
Center in the basement of LCB. As regards the writing portion of this
course, there is also help available at the Marriott Library
Writing Center. |
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