We will study the history of mathematics, from the earliest times to the beginning of the 20th century.
Instructor: Moira Chas,
Office: 3 - 113 Math Tower.
Instructor email address: moira.chas “at” math.stonybrook.edu
Instructor Office hours: Tu 1:30 to 2:30pm. Th 9:30 to 11:30am. Location TBA
Lectures: MW Lecture 1: 2:40pm- 4:00pm, Harriman Hll137; Lecture 2: 11:45am- 1:05pm Frey Hall 104.
Prerequisites: MAT 200 or AMS 310.
Grader: Jade Nine
Grader email address jade.nine “at” stonybrook.edu
Description: A survey of the history of mathematics from the beginnings through the 18th century, with special attention to primary sources and to the interactions between culture and mathematics. Emphasis on topics germane to the high school curriculum. Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and Greek mathematics; non-European mathematics; early Renaissance mathematics; the birth and flowering of calculus.
Recommended (not required) Textbooks - any edition is fine:
- Victor J. Katz, A History of Mathematics: An Introduction, Pearson;
- David M. Burton, The History of Mathematics, McGrawhill.
- William Dunham, Journey Through Genius, Penguin.
Grading policy:
- Quizzes: 10 % (every other week, announced in the schedule)
- Homework: 10% (to be submitted every other week, announced in the schedule.)
- In-class presentation (Between 15 and 20 minutes): 20 %
- Term paper (2500 words, excluding the bibliography): 40 %
- Podcast: 4%
- Video: 3%
- Letter 3%
- Class participation (includig Presentation evaluations) 10%.
Note that there will be no final examination. Attendance and participation are expected.
Quizzes, Reading Assignments and Homework
Check the schedule for the week's reading assignments and suggested exercises.
Homework will be collected in every other week.Similar material will turn up on following week's quiz.
To guide your reading, concentrate on understanding the details of the points mentioned in class.
Homework problems will be posted each Friday before 10am.
The weekly quizzes will be about what has been discussed in class during the previous couple of weeks, as well as the reading. There will be no make-ups for the quizzes. Anyone absent will receive a zero unless there is a serious documented reason. In this case, the grade will be determined based on the balance of the work in the course.
In-class presentations
- Each student will give a 15-20 minute oral presentation in front of the class over a topic assigned by the instructor, with the student input.
- Before September 8th, each student must fill this form, listing the outline and bibliography. (A couple of sample outlines can be found here)
- The bibliography must contain at least one paper. In the course website, there is one suggested paper. Most of the suggestions are papers I found on a quick search, and it is not mandatory to use them. Each student can found a paper or papers to read.
- After the presentation, there will be a short class discussion, in which the other students can ask questions, or make comments.
- All students (except the presenter) will also fill up a short google form about the presentation.
- The schedule for student in-class presentations is subject to change, and any changes will be announced in class
If you want to use PowerPoint or other presentation software, you have submit the slides to the instructor at least two days before the presentation. The slides cannot contain more than 100 words in total. (If you really need to put more than 100 words, discuss this issue with your instructor)
Notes to help your memory are fine. (Of course your presentation cannot consist only of reading)
Your presentation will be judged the extent to which your presentation is well organized, the quality of information conveyed, including mathematical correctness, the extent to which you've added new information (information not already covered in class), the extent to which you've considered the important issues and are able to answer the group's questions about them, and the extent to which you've help spark new questions from other students.on the clarity of expression,
Your presentation will be graded out of 100 points, according to the following rubric (approximately):
- () Form
- (10 points) Outline Content (due the week before the presentation)
- (10 points) Outline Bibliography (due the week before the presentation)
- (5 points) Time Management (no less than 10 mins, no more than 15)
- (5 points) Speaking in a Clear, Easily-Audible Voice
- (5 points) Creativity/Originality of Presentation
- (5 points) New information and/or important issues are considered and/or sparks questions
- (20 points) Historical context
- (40 points) Mathematical Content
It is encouraged to bring handouts to your classmates to help their understanding.
Speaking in front of a group can be scary (..that's an understatement..), but the atmosphere will be supportive and encouraging. During your talk the rest of us will be working hard to understand your material. Since you're the speaker we'll be asking questions so that you can help us understand. When we ask a question you don't need to think quickly, just clearly. If some of your answers are "I didn't think about that; I'll answer it next time," that's perfectly fine… if you indeed try to answer in the nearby future.
Keep in mind: Your presentation should contain a brief historic frame of the topic you are discussing, a brief mathematical frame and a very clear discussion of a particular math point. This math point can be, for instantce, the solution of a problem, or the proof of a statement. Your “math point” has to be something you understand very well.
Information about the paper
Techonlogy
We may use cellphone or tables to do in-class polls (depending on the availability of for the students)
We will discuss other uses of technology of the first day of classes.
Student Learning Objectives
- Describe the mathematical progress starting from ancient cultures such as Egypt, Babylonia, Greece, China, India and the Islamic world, and continuing with the European Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the seventeenth, eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries in Europe and the Americas;
- Explain the relationship between mathematical progress and social, philosophical, religious, and scientific developments;
- Solve mathematical problems from the societies under study the way these problems were solved.
Stony Brook Curriculum requirements
Successful completion of MAT 336 with a C or better satisfies DEC H and the expository portion of the upper-division writing requirement for the mathematics major, as well as the STAS, WRTD, and SPK objectives in the Stony Brook Curriculum (see below).
Learning Outcomes for "Understand relationships between Science or Technology and the Arts, Humanities or Social Sciences (STAS)":
- Apply concepts and tools drawn from any field of study in order to understand the links between science or technology and the arts, humanities or social sciences.
- Synthesize quantitative and/or technical information and qualitative information to make informed judgments about the reciprocal relationship between science or technology and the arts, humanities or social sciences.
Learning Outcomes for “Speak Effectively before an Audience (SPK)”
- Research a topic, develop an oral argument and organize supporting details.
- Deliver a proficient and substantial oral presentation for the intended audience using appropriate media.
- Evaluate oral presentations of others according to specific criteria.
Learning Outcomes for “Write Effectively within One’s Discipline (WRTD)
- Collect the most pertinent evidence, draw app
- ropriate disciplinary inferences, organize effectively for one's intended audience, and write in a confident voice using correct grammar and punctuation.
Student Accessibility Support Center:
If you have a physical, psychological, medical, or learning disability that may impact your course work, please contact the Student Accessibility Support Center, 128 ECC Building, (631) 632-6748, or at sasc@Stonybrook.edu. They will determine with you what accommodations are necessary and appropriate. All information and documentation is confidential.
Students who require assistance during emergency evacuation are encouraged to discuss their needs with their professors and the Student Accessibility Support Center. For procedures and information go to the following website: https://ehs.stonybrook.edu/programs/fire-safety/emergency-evacuation/evacuation-guide-people-physical-disabilities and search Fire Safety and Evacuation and Disabilities.
Academic Integrity:
Each student must pursue his or her academic goals honestly and be personally accountable for all submitted work. Representing another person's work as your own is always wrong. Faculty are required to report any suspected instances of academic dishonesty to the Academic Judiciary. Faculty in the Health Sciences Center (School of Health Technology & Management, Nursing, Social Welfare, Dental Medicine) and School of Medicine are required to follow their school-specific procedures. For more comprehensive information on academic integrity, including categories of academic dishonesty, please refer to the academic judiciary website at http://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/academic_integrity/index.html
Critical Incident Management
Stony Brook University expects students to respect the rights, privileges, and property of other people. Faculty are required to report to the Office of Judicial Affairs any disruptive behavior that interrupts their ability to teach, compromises the safety of the learning environment, or inhibits students' ability to learn.