Catalog
course description
- A historical study of the growth of the various fields of mathematics.
Time Line :
- Plagiarism
- Important historical names, dates, and events
- Mathematical Periods
- MTM: An overview of the history of mathematics
- Math Autobiography:
- Sketch#1
- Group Work Ancient
Numerals:
- MTM:
* An overview of Babylonian mathematics
* An overview of Egyptian mathematics - Paper 1
- EUCLID
- Writing exercises from OWL: Eliminating
Wordiness#1
- Group-work(IN CLASS): Eliminating Wordiness
- Email Etiquette for Students
- APA Format
- Number Theory (D: Chapter 3 (p 68-75 and 81-83))
- Comma Quick Rules
- Pythagora practice problems
- Paper 2
- CH 4
- Archimedes Cattle Problem
- D: Chapter 5
- An overview of Arabic mathematics
- B&G: Sketch 10
- Italian Renaissance:D: Chapter 6
- B&G: Sketch 11
- Isaac Newton D: Chapter 7
- Newton, Leibniz, and the Bernoullis Ch 8
- Claculus Overview
- Peer Review
- Present a mathematician
- Paper 3 guidelines
- Euler and his legacy:D: Chapter 9 (p 207-222) and Chapter 10 (p223-235)
- Cantor D: Chapter 11 (p 245-266)
B&G: Sketch 25 (p 237-242) D: Chapter 12 (p 267-283) - Presentations
- Peer review due
Assignmets:
- 1) Complete the "Recognizing Plagiarism"
test for Indiana
University's plagiarism module and
bring me the signed, completed certificate. You will
not receive credit for any paper-related assignments
(drafts or final versions) until I receive the
certificate.due Jan 28
- 2) Math Autobiography (Guidelines) due Jan 28 Alternative date (Friday Jan 30)
- 3)Group Work: Ancient Numerals (done in class)
- Paper 1
- Draft Paper 1: due Feb 9
- 4)Writing Exercises from OWL: Eliminating Wordiness
- 5)In Class Group Work:
Teaching Detailed Writing and Procedural Transitions-Mouse Trap
- 6)In
Class Group Work:
APA-An Interview
- 7 )In Class Group Work:Number theory problems
- Paper 1 (to be submited both formats: hard copy and .Pdf)
- 8)In Class Group Work:PI B&G: Sketch 7 (p 107-110)
- Paper 2
- Proposal paper 2
- Draft and cover letter paper 2
- Rewrite paragraph
- Organization and Focus
(use Structure of a general expository essay)
- 9)In Class Group Work: comma
- Paper 2 due
- 10) Sketch 8 (p 113-118)
- (Reconstruct a paper: revision paper 2 in process)
- 12) "Show and Tell" about mathematics during class Monday March 30
- Paper 3 guidelines
- Peer review due
- Proposal Paper 3
- Draft Paper 3
- Paper 3 due at Final exam time (FINAL PAPER DUE: TBA)
- Extra help:
- Uconn Writing Center: All UConn students are invited to visit the University Writing Center for individualized tutorials. The Writing Center staff includes talented and welcoming graduate and undergraduate students from across the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. They work with writers at any stage of the writing process, from exploring ideas to polishing final drafts. Their first priority is guiding each student's revisions, so they frequently provide a sounding board for a writer's ideas, arguments, analytical moves, and uses of evidence. They can also work with you on sentence-level concerns, but please note that they will not proofread for you; instead, they will help you become a better editor of your own work. You should come with a copy of the assignment you are working on, a current draft (or notes if you are not yet at the draft stage), and ideas about what you want out of a session. Tutorials run 45 minutes and are free. You can drop in or make an appointment.
- Academic Integrity In this course we aim to conduct ourselves as a community of scholars, recognizing that academic study is both an intellectual and ethical enterprise. You are encouraged to build on the ideas and texts of others; that is a vital part of academic life. You are also obligated to document every occasion when you use another’s ideas, language, or syntax. You are encouraged to study together, discuss readings outside of class, share your drafts during peer review and outside of class, and go to the Writing Center with your drafts. In this course, those activities are well within the bounds of academic honesty. However, when you use another’s ideas or language—whether through direct quotation, summary, or paraphrase—you must formally acknowledge that debt by signaling it with a standard form of academic citation. Even one occasion of academic dishonesty, large or small, on any assignment, large or small, will result in failure for the entire course and referral to Student Judicial Affairs. For University policies on academic honesty, please see UConn’s Responsibilities of Community Life: The Student Code and the Office of Community Standards: http://www.community.uconn.edu
- Students With
Disabilities
Students who think that they may need accommodations because of a disability are encouraged to meet with me privately early in the semester. Students should also contact the Center for Students with Disabilities as soon as possible to verify their eligibility for reasonable accommodations. For more information, please go to http://www.csd.uconn.edu/.
- Counseling and Mental Health Services http://www.cmhs.uconn.edu/
- Career Services http://www.career.uconn.edu/
- Alcohol and Other Drug Services http://www.aod.uconn.edu/
- Dean of Students Office 486-3426
-
About Writing:
- APA citation style from Cornell
- general APA style http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/DocAPA.html from the University of Wisconsin (note that the only APA formatting you must apply is the citation style; you don't need to worry about formatting headings as APA requires, for instance)
- Evaluationg sourses:
- the CSRS checklist from Univ. of Cape Town http://www2.lib.uct.ac.za/infolit/cars.htm


According to university-wide policies for W courses, you cannot pass this courseunless you receive a passing grade for its writing components.
Text book
Please purchase the two main textbooks (available new
at UCONN Bookstore and, both new and used, at
amazon.com)
- Journey
through Genius: The Great Theorems of Mathematics
by William Dunham
- Math
through the Ages: A Gentle History for Teachers
and Others (expanded edition) by William P.
Berlinghoff and Fernando Q. Gouvêa
In addition, we will use the following online resource (browse to become familiar with the many biographies and mathematics topics available at this website):
- The MacTutor History of Mathematics Archives (University of St Andrews)
- Updates to the syllabus, as well as information, updates, and links to reading and homework assignments, will be posted on a weekly basis as we progress through the course. Please check the course's website on a weekly basis.
Grading Policy
The course grade will be determined as follows:
- Individual and Group-Work Assignments,Class Participation: 25%
- Paper
1 (3 pages): 20%
- Paper
2 (5 pages): 25%
- Paper 3 (7 pages): 30%
The final version of each paper will be graded using
the following grading scheme: content (writing
style, depth and elaboration of points, evidence of
supporting research), argument (focus and
organization), mechanics (correct grammar).
For details see the Paper Grading Rubric.
For details see the Paper
Grading Rubric.
According to UCONN policies for W courses, you cannot
pass this course unless you receive a passing grade
for its writing component (papers 1, 2, and 3).
UCONN policies for W courses require that the combined
lengths of the three papers (papers 1, 2 and 3),
excluding bibliography, is at least 15 pages. Page
length assumes a 12-point Times New Roman font,
double-spaced, 1" margin page. There are about 250
words per page. Since typing-software affect page
length, please use word count when calculating the
length of your paper.
NO LATE SUBMISSIONS of proposals, drafts,
or final versions of papers 1, 2 and 3 are accepted,
unless there is a serious emergency for which you
provide proof. Paper 3 is considered to be the final
exam for this course and as such rescheduling its
submission needs approval from UCONN's Dean of
Students Office, see UCONN
Final Exam Policy.
ALL PAPERS ARE TO BE SUBMITTED BOTH FORMATS:
HARD COPY (IN CLASS AND .PDF VIA EMAIL)
The Papers (1, 2 and 3)
Consult these links before starting to work on your
first writing assignment.
- Citation Style: APA citation style (Cornell University)
- Free Bibliography Generator (APA, MLA, and
other styles): EasyBib.com
- Evaluating reliability of printed and online sources: CRAAP test (California State University, Chico)
- How to recognize plagiarism: Tutorial and test (Indiana University)
- Online Writing Lab: Owl (Purdue University)
Paper Schedule |
Paper Guidelines (an active link to each paper guidelines will appear in the week each paper is assigned) |
Paper
1
|
Paper 1 Guidelines Draft Cover Letter Template Final Version Cover Letter Template |
Paper
2 |
Paper 2 Guidelines Draft Cover Letter Template Final Version Cover Letter Template |
Paper
3 |
Paper 3 Guidelines Draft Cover Letter Template Final Version Cover Letter Template Guidelines for Peer Review Peer Review Template |
Individual and Group-Work Assignments
Small individual or group-work assignments, aimed at practicing mathematical concepts and writing techniques, will be given almost every week. Some of the assignments will be worked at during class-time; others will be given as homework. In all cases, assignments are due the Friday after they were assigned. Each week's assignment will be graded on a scale of 0 to 10 (divided among the various components). For group-works: the group will submit one completed assignment and each member of the group will receive the grade awarded for this joint submission. Most group-works will be started in class, and absent students will not be able to receive credit for the group-work they missed, unless there is a serious reason for their absence.
Course outline
Notes: * Below we will denote by: D = Journey
through Genius by W. Dunham, B&G = Math
through the Ages by W. P. Berlinghoff and F. Q.
Gouvêa, MTM = The
MacTutor History of Mathematics Archives.
Week 1: Introduction Jan19-23 Overviews of the history of mathematics |
Handouts/Readings: * Important historical names, dates, and events * Mathematical Periods MTM: An overview of the history of mathematics |
No class: Jan19 |
Week
2: Arithmetic Jan 26-30 * Babylonian mathematics * Egyptian mathematics * The history of numerals * The history of zero |
MTM:
* An overview of Babylonian mathematics * An overview of Egyptian mathematics B&G: Sketch 1(p 65-70), B&G:Sketch 3 (p 79-82) |
|
Week
3: Geometry Feb 2-6 Assign Paper1 * Early Greek mathematics * Euclid's Elements: Geometry |
D: Chapter 1 (p 1-11) D: Chapter 2 (p 27- 60, you may skip the proof of propositions I.15, I.16, I.26, I.27, I.32, I.41 and Theorem AAA) |
Draft Paper 1: due
Feb 4 |
Week
4: Greek Number Theory Feb 9-13 * Euclid's Elements: Geometry * Euclid's Elements: Number theory APA-Owl |
D: Chapter 3 (p 68-75 and 81-83) |
|
Week
5: Archimedes Feb 16-20 * Archimedes and the circular area * Euclid's Elements: Geometry Non-Euclidean geometries |
D: Chapter 4 (p 84-112) * Archimedes Cattle Problem (Not required. Read for fun!) B&G: Sketch 19 (p 193-198) |
No
class: Mon. Feb.16 Final version Paper 1: due Feb 20 |
Week
6 : Greek mathematics after
Archimedes Feb 23-27 * The history of π |
D: Chapter 5 (p
113-118 and 129-132) B&G: Sketch 7 (p 107-110) |
Proposal Paper 2: due
Feb 27 |
Week 7:
Algebra March 2-6 * Greek mathematics after Archimedes * Arabic mathematics How do we write Rewrite paragraph Comma quick rules |
MTM: * An overview of Arabic mathematics * The man who counted by Malba Tahan (recommended, but not required) * Earliest Uses of Various Mathematical Symbols (Not required. Check for fun.) |
|
Week
8 March 9-13 * The cossic art * Italian Renaissance: solutions to cubic and quartic equations |
B&G: Sketch 10 (p 127-130), Sketch 8 (p 113-118) Organization and Focus (use Structure of a general expository essay) Rewrite paragraph D: Chapter 6 (p 133-154) B&G: Sketch 11 |
Draft Paper 2: Due on March 11 |
Week
9 March 16-20 No class Week 10 March 23-27 * Gems from Isaac Newton |
Spring Break: Relax and have fun! D: Chapter 7 (p 155-174 and 177-183) |
Final version Paper 2: Due March27 |
Week
11 March 30-April3 * Calculus: Newton, Leibniz, and the Bernoullis |
"Show and Tell" about mathematics during class Monday March 30 D: Chapter 8 (p 184-206) |
Proposal Paper 3:Due April 1 No class:Feb. April3 |
Week
12 April 6-10 * Euler and his legacy * Fermat's Last Theorem |
D: Chapter 9 (p 207-222) and Chapter 10 (p223-235, you may skip the proofs) B&G: Sketch 13 (p147-152) |
|
Week
13 April 13-17 * Cantor and the challenge of the infinite |
D: Chapter 11 (p 245-266) B&G: Sketch 25 (p 237-242) |
Draft Paper 3:Due on April15 |
Week
14 April 20-24 * Cantor and the transfinite |
Mandatory
Peer Review:Wed April 22 D: Chapter 12 (p 267-283) |
Peer Review:Wed April 22 |
Week 15 April 27-May 1 Presentations!!! * A brief look backward and forward * Catch-up and wrap-up |
Journal of Mathematics and the Arts: * Poetry Inspired by Mathematics: A brief journey through history |
Presentations of papers!!! |
Final Exam Week |
FINAL PAPER DUE:
Monday May 4
Time:10:00-13:00 in my office MSB
127 |
Final version: Paper 3
May 4 FINAL PAPER DUE: MSB127 |
Use this area to enter an announcement or some news from your area.
Instructor Schedule:
Gageonea, Maria MWF:
Section 02
MSB
407 Time: 11:15-12:05
Section 03
ROWE
318 Time: 1:25-2:15
Instructor Contact:
Gageonea, Maria
Office: MSB M127 (Storrs)
Phone: (860)486-6452
Office Hours:
MWF 12-13 (or by Appt.)
Email: maria.gageonea@uconn.edu
Maria Gageonea
Department of Mathematics
196 Auditorium Road
Storrs, CT, 06269-3009
maria.gageonea@uconn.edu
(860)486-3923