Math 191: History of Mathematics in the Islamic World, Spring 2011
Instructor: Noah Aydin
Office/Phone: RBH 319 / 5674
Office Hours: MWF 11-12; TR 10-11, and by appointment
Textbooks: 1.Episodes in Mathematics of Medieval Islam, by J. L. Berggren
2. Islamic Science and Making of the European Renaissance, by G. Saliba
3. Ibn al-Haytham: First scientist, by B. Steffens
Room & Time: MWF 10:10-11
Course Description:
This course examines an important and interesting part of history of mathematics, and more generally, intellectual history of human kind: history of mathematics in the Islamic world. Some of the most fundamental notions in modern mathematics have their roots in this part of the history such as modern numeral system, the fields of algebra and trigonometry, the concepts of logarithm and algorithm among others. In addition to studying specific contributions of medieval Muslim mathematicians in the areas of arithmetic, algebra, geometry and trigonometry in some details, we will also examine the context in which Islamic science and mathematics arose. The rise of Islamic science and its interactions with other cultures (e.g. Greek and Indian) will tell us much about the larger issues of humanities. Thus, this course will have both a significant mathematical component and a liberal arts component. It will be a part of the Islamic civilization program, and fulfill the QR requirement. No prerequisite is needed beyond high school algebra and geometry (but a solid knowledge in algebra and geometry is needed)
Some Useful Online Resources
The MacTutor of History of Mathematics Archive: http://turnbull.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/
The MacTutor Islamic Mathematics: http://turnbull.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Indexes/Arabs.html
Muslim Heritage Web Site: http://www.muslimheritage.com/
General Course Information and Syllabus