Mar 28, 2024  
2019-2020 Scripps Catalog 
    
2019-2020 Scripps Catalog THIS IS AN ARCHIVED CATALOG. LINKS MAY NO LONGER BE ACTIVE AND CONTENT MAY BE OUT OF DATE!

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CORE 003 SC - Mathematics in Our Culture


This course pursues the theme of “Histories of the Present” through a focus on one particular part of our cultural “present”: mathematics. We will explore not simply a history of mathematics, as its own discipline, but the way it relates to a wide-ranging collection of other fields and various cultural episodes. We will focus our attention upon a number of major events in the history of mathematics and the effect they have had on the shaping of our culture and our ways of thinking about ourselves. Individuals such as Descartes, Napier, Newton, Hilbert, Gödel, and Wiles have had far-reaching influence. Similarly, world events and movements such as World War II, the Space Race, and multiculturalism have influenced the way we think about mathematics and mathematicians. What is math, as a fundamental human endeavor? Why do we study math and why do we study it in the way that we do?

Course Credit: 1.0


Please refer to the course schedule on the Scripps Portal for current course offerings and details.




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