VPW: Mathematics and its Culture Through the Optic of J. J. Sylvester

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The project involves work toward the completion of a booklength study of the nineteenth-century British mathematician, James Joseph Sylvester. The detailed analysis of the various facets of Sylvester's life and career will result in a rich multilayered look at mathematics and mathematical culture in the nineteenth century, a subject and an era fundamental to our intellectual heritage. The study's sensitivity to both internalist and externalist issues and concerns will also serve to unite what C. P. Snow called the "two cultures" of humanists and scientists in a greater mutual understanding of the nature and role of science in society. Interactive activities include: teaching a one-quarter, graduate- level seminar on the development of American science; participating in the various seminar series sponsored by the Program on the Conceptual Foundations of Science and the Morris Fishbein Center for History of Science and Medicine; mentoring graduate students in both programs; and organizing a day-long conference in conjunction with the above-mentioned programs and the Department of Mathematics on "The History of Mathematics: Who Is It For? How Should It Be Done?"