Math 238, Rice Connect, Spring 2021
If you would like to enroll in both this class and Math 238: Ethics in Mathematics, please email Sarah and Allison Miller so that we can enroll you!
The main online resource for this course is Canvas, where handouts and homeworks are posted.
| Instructors: | Sarah Frei and Morgan Weiler |
| Credit hours: | 1 |
| Meeting time: | Wednesdays 12:15-1:15, online |
| Prerequisites: | an interest in the math major |
Math 238: Rice Connect is designed to create a community of students with similar intellectual interests. It will be based around small group meetings focusing on sharing ideas and learning new skills within the math major, providing a supportive intellectual community for students interested in the math major or minor. However, you do not have to be a major or minor in order to participate – the only prerequisite is an interest in math!
We will explore a wide range of areas of math based on student interest, including but not limited to: the mathematics of music, lattice point counting and discrete volume, the geometry of billiards, the mathematics of voting, the role of math in science, ruler-and-compass constructions, and solving cubics and higher-degree polynomials. We will also discuss major aspects of life as a math major, including how to navigate the transition to college-level math and to higher-level math courses, how to attend math talks, the different roles of the major areas of math (e.g. analysis vs. algebra), and steretoypes of mathematicians and other interactions between math and society, including the experiences of mathematicians from varying backgrounds.
This class is discussion-based, so attendance is important. However, if you are interested in taking this class and are in a different time zone which makes it difficult for you to make the 12:15-1:15 time, please email me and Sarah.