HONORS PS1500

PHYSICS IN THE PLAYS
OF TOM STOPPARD

Announcements:  The first exam will be on Chi-Tester Feb 19 & 20

Review sessions Tuesday Feb 12 1:00 pm (yes!) in the Honors Center (2nd floor library)
and
Thursday Feb 14 7:30 am in the classroom

Poussin's Et in Arcadia Ego, 1638-40
Musée du Louvre, Paris
(click here for a larger version)

|Course Outline|Office Hours|Grading|
|Schedule and Reading Assignments|Final Exam|

Course Outline - Spring Semester 2008

click here for a .pdf version of the Course Outline

(To read the .pdf versions of the on-line documents,
you will need a free plug-in of Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Science and math background assumed: none!

COURSE OUTLINE

In several of his plays, Tom Stoppard examines the paradox of free will in a deterministic Newtonian world. To what extent can individuals control their lives in a clockwork universe? We will examine the rise and fall of the Newtonian worldview in this course, and see how this provides the philosophical themes of three of Tom Stoppard's plays, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead, Arcadia, and Hapgood. Classroom activities will include

There will be a two-part midterm for each of Stoppard's plays (covering the storyline of each play and the physics in it), and an optional course project of your choice (with the instructor's approval).

The topics for the small-group discussions will be distributed during the previous class. Come prepared to discuss any of the topics - your group will be assigned one of the topics to concentrate on, and then all of the groups will share their responses. The midterms on the physics content of the plays will consist of multiple-choice questions, and will be given on WEB CT over a two-day period.  The other exams will be take-home and open book. Each person is responsible for his or her own work. Academic dishonesty on any exam will result in a grade of zero being given for that examination. A second violation will constitute failure of the course.

Attendance is important, and a daily roll will be taken.  You may have four absences with no penalty, but you will be penalized 2 percentage points for every absence over four.  At the end of the semester, if you have four absences or less, you will receive 5 extra percentage points.

Physics provides the fundamental description of physical reality, an exciting and sometimes startling view of the world that most people never get to see. Above all,

Ask Questions at Any Time!

If you have questions that can't be cleared up in class, drop by my office to discuss the meaning and implications of the material. Relax and enjoy this exploration of how nature really works, and remember the words of British scientist J. B. S. Haldane:

"Not only is the universe stranger than we imagine,

it is stranger than we can imagine!"

OFFICE HOURS

 12:00 - 1:00 Daily
and
any other time I am in my office

GRADING

The course project is worth up to 10%. It should be something original and creative, and must be at least peripherally related to the subject matter of the course. With your project you must hand in a short written paper (1 page maximum) that describes what you did and how it is connected to the course. No last-minute projects will be approved. Your project should be something we can both be proud to share with the rest of the class!

SCHEDULE AND READING ASSIGNMENTS

Click on a hyperlink for that day's handouts

FINAL EXAM

Thursday, May 1, 7:00 - 9:00 a.m.

Presentation of course projects

RETURN TO THE TOP OF THIS PAGE

Last modified:  Sunday, March 02, 2008 06:19 PM

Go to the Physics Department Home page

Go to the WSU Home page

e-mail comments to:  bcarroll@weber.edu