SF2719/SF2725 The history of mathematics
Mathematics has a rich and fascinating history going back at least several thousand years. In this course, we will not only study the history of mathematical ideas and great mathematicians, but also learn to analyze and contextualize historical mathematical texts, study the mutual influences between mathematics and society, and draw conclusions about the role and relevance of mathematics today.
After this course, you will be able to
- read, understand, and analyze historical texts on mathematics
- ask relevant and creative historic questions
- argue convincingly based on primary and secondary sources
- broadly sketch the development of various mathematical ideas and mathematical topics through history.
Course structure
The course meets twice a week during period 1, the format is mixed lectures, group work, discussions, and other activities. You are expected to write four short essays during the course, and there are four short in-class tests of your knowledge. There is no written exam, but there will be short, individual, oral exams at the end which, together with the grades from the essays and quizzes, will determine your final grade. Those of you who take the course as the 7.5 credit SF2725 variant are also required to write an extended essay, a project, on a topic of your choice.
Due to the pandemic, all meetings will initially be online, with the possibility of a return the classroom during the course of the term if that seems advisable. Since discussions and group work are integral parts of the lectures, I strongly encourage you to find a setting where you can turn on your camera and microphone. For the same reason, lectures will not be recorded.
Zoom link: https://kth-se.zoom.us/j/65454940501 Links to an external site.
The lecture-by-lecture planning can be found here.
Literature
We will not be following a single textbook, but the following books will be useful throughout the course:
| Jacqueline Stedall: Mathematics Emerging: A Sourcebook 1540–1900, Oxford University Press, 2008. This book contains a selection of original mathematical texts with an introduction and, if necessary, a translation. Even though the title suggest otherwise, it also contains some examples from anitquity. We are going to look at examples taken from this book. You can e-loan it from the KTH library. |
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| Benjamin Wardhaugh: How to Read Historical Mathematics, Princeton University Press, 2010. This little book is an introduction to how to find, read, understand, and analyze a historical mathematical text and what questions one can ask about it. This book can be a very good guide to the essays and (for SF2725) the project. It is also short, easy to read, and relatively cheap ($37). The KTH library has one copy. |
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Victor J. Katz, A History of Mathematics: An Introduction, Pearson, third edition 2009 |
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John Fauvel, Jeremy Gray, The History of Mathematics: A Reader, Palgrave, 1987. This is a another sourcebook for texts (only translations) with very little commentary. I will use some of their texts. |
Links to further resources will be available on the Course Content page
Student representatives
Christoffer Nilsson
Amanda Sihvonen
Måns Hultin
Kuan Yan (SF2725)