|
TERM PROJECTS (300 points total)
There will be
two individual projects that students will have to produce during
the semester. One will be about a mathematician, and one will be
about a mathematical idea.
100 points:
Paper #1: 5-page paper about a mathematician and a discussion of
his/her contributions to mathematics.
100 points:
Paper #2: 5-page paper about a mathematical idea and its historical
significance.
50 points:
For completion of drafts and complying with all deadlines.
50 points:
For 10 minute oral presentation of one of your paper topics OR the
creation of a multi-paged, hypertext online version of one of your
paper topics.
Guidelines
Here are some
helpful instructions on the project papers (grabbed from V. Fred
Rickey)
1. The papers are to be on the history of mathematics. They can be neither all history
nor all mathematics. Each should contain a reasonably non-trivial piece of
mathematics as well as the history and background of that mathematics.
2. Enough expository material should be included so as to make the paper self-contained.
If you have doubts, ask a friend to read it. Having someone else read
your paper critically is the best way to improve the exposition.
3. You should use a variety of research materials and must give careful references to
your sources. You will want to use books and encyclopedias, but I especially
encourage you to use the journals (a necessity for B work). Your paper should
include a bibliography listing your sources and they should be cited in the body of
your paper when appropriate. The best sources to use are original sources, but,
admittedly, that is hard to do. Their use is, however, required for A work.
4. The paper must be prepared using a wordprocessor (you may write in symbols if
the wordprocessor you are using does not handle them); if you don't know how to
use one, now is the time to learn. Other issues such as the length, format, etc., are
up to you. Since you will be startled by this last comment, let me point out that
papers have a natural length. You are telling a story which needs certain
background, exposition, and detail. When that is successfully done, stop; you
have finished. You should turn in two copies of your paper as I intend to keep one
copy.
Schedule and
Deadlines
All deadlines
refer to the beginning of class.
Paper #1
Topic: due
Friday February 5th
First draft: due Friday February 19th
Final draft: due Friday March 5th
Paper #2
Topic: due Friday
March 26th
First draft: due Friday April 9th
Final draft: due Friday April 23rd
Oral Presentations
or webpages published by April 26 and 28.
Suggested Topics
Fred Rickey has
a large list
of suggested topics for student papers.
|