Instructor: Darryl McCullough, Professor of Mathematics
| Office: | 804 Physical Sciences Center |
| Phone: | 325-2743 |
| Email: | dmccullough@math.ou.edu |
| Office hours: | Mo 2:00-3:00, We 1:30-3:30, and by appointment. |
The office hours listed above are primarily for the students in my undergraduate class. You should feel free to meet with me at any time to discuss the course material. Just contact me by email or talk with me after class, and we will find a time to meet. In addition, you are welcome to just drop by my office-- if I have time available, I will meet with you without a prior appointment. I do not consider it a bother when students come to my office with questions; what bothers me is when students who can benefit from help do not make use of it.
The text for this course is Topology: A Geometric Approach, by Terry Lawson.
Your course grade will be A, B, C, or D. It is based on three factors: your performance on examinations, your written work, and your participation in problem sessions and classes. Your performance on examinations will merit either an A or a B. The resulting grade will be reduced by one letter if your written work is insufficent, and/or by one letter if your participation in problem sessions or classes is insufficient. I much prefer to give only A's and B's, so please help me out.
This course will be very problem-oriented, because one learns best by doing. The written work involves problem assignments with their due dates, which will be posted on the course website. In addition, we will have evening problem sessions most weeks, at a time to be determined. In the problem sessions, you will present homework problems at the board. Further details on the structure of these sessions will be given in class. Class participation means arriving on time for class, well-prepared and ready to learn.
When necessary, you should feel free to consult with other students about the homework problems. There is nothing wrong with this, indeed one of the best ways to internalize mathematics is through the give and take of talking with others. It is, however, very important to develop the details yourself, and to write up the solutions in your own words. The mathematics that we originate ourselves is the mathematics that we know best.
If you are working toward a doctorate, this course (along with the other ``qualifying'' courses in algebra and real analysis) is one of the most important that you will take in your graduate career. It requires your best effort--- not thinking in terms of maximizing a grade, but striving to move to higher levels of mathematical conceptualization and technique. I wish you success.