Completing official withdrawal procedures after the last
day of regularly scheduled classes is not allowed.
Participation in class is important, and regular attendance and participation is expected. Excessive absences will result in a reduced grade, and, in extreme cases, may result in the student's removal from the class.
Faculty have been asked to insert the following in course syllabi:
Please review university emergency preparedness and response procedures posted
at
www.pugetsound.edu/emergency/. There is a link on the university home
page. Familiarize yourself with hall exit doors and the designated gathering
area for your class and laboratory buildings.
If building evacuation becomes necessary (e.g. earthquake), meet your instructor at the designated gathering area so she/he can account for your presence. Then wait for further instructions. Do not return to the building or classroom until advised by a university emergency response representative.
If confronted by an act of violence, be prepared to make quick decisions to protect your safety. Flee the area by running away from the source of danger if you can safely do so. If this is not possible, shelter in place by securing classroom or lab doors and windows, closing blinds, and turning off room lights. Stay low, away from doors and windows, and as close to the interior hallway walls as possible. Wait for further instructions.
A course in Euclidean and non-Euclidean geometries serves several purposes in the undergraduate mathematics curriculum. For prospective teachers, it is a course required by many states for teacher certification. For many, it is the first course that involves rigorous proof. For students interested in the philosophy and history of mathematics, it provides an important example of how mathematics works, how one does mathematics, how mathematics has developed over time (together with false starts and wonderful surprises), and gives insight into what are commonly called 'foundational issues' (What are the role of axioms? What is the nature of proof? What is the nature of mathematical truth? What, if anything, does this all mean? What is the geometry of the space around us?).
We will approach all of these issues in the course of this term. We will study geometry by doing it. From the practical point of view, this means that we will spend time learning how to prove things and how to present results both orally and in writing. Along the way we will talk about and work with the process of discovery, the uncovering of hidden assumptions, the rigorous presentation of results, and the logical and philosophical foundations of mathematics (and some of the issues surrounding those foundations).
So... expect
It will be a lot of work, but it should also be a great deal of fun.
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