Meeting time: TTR 9:30-11

Place: Small 123 (Physics conference room)

Instructor: Gene Tracy

Office: Small 175 (in Physics Library)

Phone: 221-3527

Fax: 221-3540

e-mail: tracy@physics.wm.edu

Office hours: MF 10-11, or by appointment

Our primary texts will be:

About time: Einstein's unfinished revolution, by Davies.

Black holes & time warps: Einstein's outrageous legacy, by Thorne.

Along the way, we'll also read some or all of the following:

Longitude: the true story of..., by Sobel.

Einstein's dreams, by Lightman.

Slaughterhouse 5, by Vonnegut.

Timescape, by Benford.

The time machine, by Wells.

There will be occasional handouts given in class. Readings will typically be announced at least a week in advance.

General comments: this course is a Freshman Seminar. That means that I will often not be lecturing to you, but instead trying to kickstart and lead discussions. I will lecture if it is appropriate, but you are expected to ask lots of questions. There is no fixed list of topics which we must cover this semester.  If you want me to slow down, speed up, cover some other material, or even repeat material, just say so.

Freshman seminars are reading, writing and discussion intensive. This means:

Reading: 100 pages per week is nominal. This will fluctuate depending on the nature of the material. You will often be reading more than one text at a time.

Writing:

• Bi-weekly `reaction papers', (500+ words). These should be a brief and succinct discussion of some aspect of the course which caught your interest in the previous two weeks of reading and discussion. They should be submitted electronically as ordinary text files and will be distributed to the class for comment. I will forward my comments to you individually as appropriate. They are due by Friday noon in alternate weeks.
• Term paper, approx. 10 pages double-spaced complete with references. A draft (hardcopy) will be due by Fall Break. This will be marked up and returned to you for revision. The final version is due the last day of class. This could form the basis of an optional ten minute presentation you would give during the last week of classes for a possible extra 10 % credit.

Discussion: This is an important aspect of the course. It requires that you read the assigned material before class so you can contribute. Be prepared to be challenged.

Grading:

• Reaction papers (6) 25 %
• Midterm 20 %
• Term paper 25 %
• In-class discussion 10 %
• Final 20 %
• Presentation (optional) 10 %

e-mail discussion: We will have an e-mail discussion group which will be used for announcements, to distribute and discuss the reaction papers, and to generally talk about the course material if you have any further thoughts or questions. Keep in mind that this is not a `chat group'. It is a discussion group associated with a course at the College and should be treated as such. No flaming will be allowed and please keep the topics relevant to the course.

Our webpage can be found by going to: http://physics.wm.edu/ then clicking on `Course related materials'.

Last update: 8/25/98