Tuesday 3:30 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.

Wednesday 9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Thursday 3:30 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.

Also by appointment or chance.

In addition, each week I will post on my office door additional times during which I will be available. Finally, in general I will be available after class; you should tell me immediately at the end of class that you are planning to stay to see me.

Course Prerequisites: One college-level mathematics course (numbered MAT 103 or above) and for the L-section, ENG 100. Pragmatically, I will also assume a solid background in high-school algebra and high-school geometry, and an introduction to right-angle trigonometry. If you have not had a reasonable exposure to these topics, please see me.

Text: The History of Mathematics: Brief Version, Victor J. Katz, 2003.

References and Supplementary Readings: Additional readings and references will be announced in class. They may be distributed in class, put on reserve in the library, or made available for copying.

“Mathematics as an expression of the human mind reflects the active will, the contemplative reason, and the desire for aesthetic perfection. Its basic elements are logic and intuition, analysis and construction, and generality and individuality. Though different traditions may emphasize different aspects, it is only the interplay of these antithetic forces and the struggle for their synthesis that constitute the life, usefulness, and supreme value of mathematical science.”

-- Richard Courant and Herbert Robbins

In this course we will study the history of mathematics from ancient to modern times. The evolution of mathematical concepts and ideas will be an important theme of the course. Some classical problems will be worked using the methods of the day. However, technical details comprise only a part of the picture. For that reason, we will consider the cultural, philosophical, and technological frameworks within which these ideas evolved. Further, we will look at the individuals involved and their impact. Finally, to the extent possible, we will trace the paths by which our knowledge of those times has come.

Course Guidelines:

“One must learn by doing the thing;
for though you think you know it,
you have no certainty until you try.”

-- Sophocles

You are responsible for any material covered in lecture, the text, and other assigned readings, as well as material covered in assigned homework problems and papers. Some course material is not covered in the text; your main source for that will be your class notes and related materials. Some of the source material may also be available on various websites, with links from my web page. Reading assignments will be given in class. You should come to class prepared to discuss those assignments. You should also bring your textbook with you to each class. Homework will be assigned periodically. You should be prepared to discuss, or at least ask questions about, the homework the class after it is assigned. The purpose of homework is to help you understand concepts by working with them

Once the semester has begun. I will be posting assignments, etc., to my webpage http://www.southernct.edu/~gingrich . Also, I will expect every student to be able to access his MySCSU e-mail account and the course calendar.

An average student should expect to work on course material at least two to three hours outside of class for each hour spent in class. If you are spending significantly less time and not doing well, do not be surprised. If you are spending significantly more time and not doing well, see me; you may not be studying the material correctly.

Since our library has a limited amount of source material, please let me know the name, author, and call number of any book that you check out of the library for this course. In that way, if someone else needs to use it, we will know where it is. I will be putting a number of books on reserve in the library and will distribute in class a list of those books.

I encourage you to seek help from me, when needed. Office hours have been established for that purpose. You do not need an appointment to see me during office hours. Even if no assistance is needed, students are welcome to stop by to discuss the course material, course policies, courses to take after this one, careers in mathematics and related areas, interesting math problems, and mathematics and life in general.

If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, if you have emergency medical information to share with me, or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please see me as soon as possible.

Because I believe that your education at Southern should be more than just what occurs in the classroom, I will also give you the opportunity to earn extra credit, in the L-section two percentage points on the non-paper part of your grade and in the non-L section one percentage point on your final grade. To earn those points, you must attend three meetings or events chosen from any combination of the following: Math Club meetings, meetings of any other academic club at Southern, events sponsored by the Cultural Affairs Club, Crescent Player productions, and performances by any student musical group recognized as an activity by the University. You may attend more than one meeting/event of the same type; for example, all three of your choices could be Math Club meetings. Since this is a mathematics class, if you attend a Math Club meeting, you only need to sign the attendance sheet at that meeting. For any other meeting/event, within two weeks of that meeting/event, you must submit a one-page typed report, including the date, the time, the sponsoring organization, and a summary/review/critique of the meeting/event. For meetings of clubs, include the name of the presiding officer and/or faculty advisor. If I consider your report incomplete or poorly written, I will ask you to re-write it. As with any work to be submitted, these reports should be your own work.

Continuing the thought of participation in campus activities, I will be happy to announce in class upcoming meetings or events in which you are members or participants. Write the information down on a 3´5 index card, and give it to me before class.

Grading:

There will be a supplement to the syllabus describing my grading policies. This supplement will be handed out at the second class and will be posted on the website.

Academic Honesty:

Students are expected to do their own work on examinations, papers, and other submitted work. You must neither give nor receive answers during testing times. You may not use crib sheets or other assists during exams unless specifically authorized by the instructor. Academic dishonesty is not a victimless crime. Every time that a student cheats on an exam or plagiarizes in writing a paper, that student cheapens the value of the degree of every other student.

You must properly document sources used in papers. Plagiarism is a serious offense.

Lying about reasons for missing classes or tests will also be considered academic dishonesty, as will any kind of deception that results in raising a student’s grade or decreasing his/her workload. You should be familiar with the SCSU policy on Academic Honesty, which appears in the current Student Handbook. Potential consequences of academic dishonesty are also listed in that section.

I strongly encourage you to work together while studying. However, any work submitted should be primarily your own. It should not duplicate verbatim the work of any other student or source. In particular, you should not copy someone else’s homework or paper word-for-word, even if you worked on it together. You should not ask others, particularly tutors working for the University, to do work for you that will be submitted for credit. However, you may discuss those problems with the instructor. You may also use the SCSU Writing Center when working on your papers.

Most importantly, you should be able to cite sources and explain your solutions if asked to do so. An inability to give a satisfactory explanation will be interpreted as your having submitted work other than your own. The lightest penalty for such action will be a zero on that assignment. Flagrant, repeated, and/or excessive violations will result in more severe penalties.

Attendance Policy:

Students are expected to attend classes regularly, as attendance is an essential component of class participation. Absences will have no automatic effect on your grade, but may have an effect on borderline cases at the end of the semester. It is your responsibility to contact me as soon as possible after missing any work (before, when possible); you can always leave a voice-mail message for me at 392-5581. You are responsible for any material developed during class whether or not you are present. It is a good idea to get to know at least one other person in the class, so that if you do miss a class, there is someone whose notes you can copy and from whom you can get assignments if you can not talk to me first.

In the early part of the semester, we may have to worry about snow days. I live sufficiently close to campus that if the University is open, I will be here. To check on the University’s status, you can listen to an appropriate radio station or call Southern’s snow number, 392-SNOW. On days the University is going to delay opening or close, there should be a message at that number no later than 7 a.m., and perhaps earlier. If the University is open but you feel that you can not make it in from where you live, I would appreciate it if you would call and leave me a message. I will try to get back to you later that day or the next with the assignment.

Make-up Policy:

Students are expected to take exams and quizzes on the dates announced in class. If you miss an exam due to an emergency or other extenuating circumstance, you must contact me as soon as possible; do not wait until the next class. You can always call me and leave a voice-mail message. Make-up exams and deadline extensions will be given at the discretion and convenience of the instructor, the decision to be made on a case-by-case basis. Factors in that decision will include the student’s overall performance in the course and the nature of the absence. If you know in advance that you will be unable to take an exam, you must inform me prior to the date of the exam so that we can discuss appropriate arrangements. As before, I will decide what constitutes a valid reason for missing the exam.

Withdrawal policy:

The last day for regular course withdrawals is Friday, March 19. Late withdrawals from the course after this date require the approval of the instructor. Such withdrawals will not be granted unless there are extenuating circumstances. By themselves poor grades will not be considered extenuating circumstances.

Some Important Dates:

Last day for add/drops: Monday, February 2.

Mid-term grades: Friday, March 19.

Spring recess: Begins Saturday, March 20, at 6:00 p.m. and ends Monday,
March 29, at 8:00 a.m.

Last day of class for this course: Thursday, May 13.

Reading or make-up days: Friday, May 14.

Final examination: Tuesday, May 18, 6:00 pm -8:00 p.m.