Spring Semester 2000

New Internet Graduate Course in the History of Mathematics

Hist. 638: This course examines the development of mathematics from the inventions of calculus to the supposed foundational crisis at the turn of the 20th century. Among its topics are the differential equations devised for mechanics and astronomy by Euler, Lagrange, and Laplace, the metric system proposed during the French Revolution, the evolution of satisfactory foundations for mathematical analysis from Cauchy to Weierstrass, the algebras of Galois and Boole, the creation of non-Euclidean geometries, and Cantor’s transfinite sets. Students will explore internal controversies and the dynamics of mathematics in larger intellectual and social settings, such as the rise to power of Russia and Prussia as well as the evolution of two modern research-intensive universities, the Ecole polytechnique and University of Berlin.

Faculty: Professor Ronald Calinger
Department of History
The Catholic University of America
Washington, D. C. 20064
e-mail: calinger@cua.edu
Phone: 202-319-5484

Required Texts:

1. Edwin Abbott, Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions (Dover)
2. Carl Boyer and Uta Merzbach, A History of Mathematics (Wiley)
3. Ronald Calinger,  A Contextual History of Mathematics (Prentice Hall)
4. Ronald Calinger, Classics of Mathematics (Prentice Hall)
5. William Dunham, Journey Through Genius (Penguin)

• Course Requirements
• Weekly Calendar with Reading Assignments
• New Books and Articles of Note