Math 181, Spring 1990


Dr. John Dee, Imperial mathematicus to Queen Elizabeth I.

Syllabus

RA = lecture by Ralph Abaham
PL = lecture by Paul Lee

PART I: BD, BEFORE DEE - ANCIENT, MIDDLE AGES AND RENAISSANCE

1Tu Apr 03: Introduction
	Handouts: paper specs, final exam, syllabus
	RA: Map of the Orphic tradition
	PL: Map of the Dee material
	Reading: French, Chs. 1, 2

1Th Apr 05: Ancient Roots, the Greek Miracle
	RA: Mathematics and Orphism
	PL: The wise men, Socrates, Plato
	Reading: French, Chs. 3, 4

2Tu Apr 10: Greek Mathematics
	PL: Plato, the Myth of Er
	RA: Euclid, the Alexandrian school
	Reading: French, Chs. 5, 6  

2Th Apr 12: The Yates Thesis
	PL: The Platonic Academy of Florence
	RA: The Watershed: Copernicus, Kepler
	Reading: French, Chs. 7, 8; Reader, Pts. I-III

PART II: DR. JOHN DEE (1527-1608)

3Tu Apr 17: Scholarship
	RA: the class database
	PL: study habits

3Th Apr 19: Dee's sources
	RA: the Clulee thesis: Roger Bacon
	PL: the Yates thesis: Pico
	First draft of paper due
	Reading: Clulee, Ch. 1; Reader, Pt. IV, #9, 10

4Tu Apr 24: The Propaedeumata Aphoristica, 1558
	PL: the Yates thesis (cont)
	RA: tabular summary

4Th Apr 26: Optics, astronomy and astrology, Angelology, Kabbalah
	RA: Merkabah mysticism, the Hekhaloth
	PL: Clulee thesis
	Reading: Clulee, Ch. 2, 3; Reader, #11, 12

5Tu May 01: Guest lecture: Stan Tenen, MERU Institute, San Anselmo, CA
	On a Practical Application of Self-Reference in the Rediscovery 
	of Sacred Alphabets, OR Why You Shouldn't Believe This Story,
	Because If You Could, There Would Be No Need of It.

5Th May 03: Guest lecture: David Jones, Center for Enochian Studies, OTO
	John Dee's Enochian Revelations
	Reading: Clulee, Ch. 4

6Tu May 08: ---- No meeting (exchange day)
6Th May 10: Dee in history 
	RA: Dee's place in the history of math
	The Monas Hieroglyphica, 1564
	PL: The ocean and the island
	General and Rare Memorials, 1577 
	Second draft of paper due
	Reading: Clulee, Ch. 5
	Optional evening meeting: Enochian demonstration

7Tu May 15: Guest lecture: Diane di Prima, Hermetics and Kabbalah
7Th May 17: RA: From Dee to Chaos
	Reading: Clulee, Ch. 6

8Tu May 22: Guest lecture: Diane de Prima, The Monad
8Th May 24: PL: What counts for knowledge?
	Reading: Clulee, Ch. 7

PART III: AD, AFTER DEE

9Tu May 29: RA: From Dee to Newton

9Th May 31: RA: The Trinity and the Calculus
	Reading: Clulee, Ch. 8

10Tu Jun 05: SIG reports: Cyberspace Economics Magic Music

10Th Jun 07: Math Native American Women in Math
	Reading: Clulee, Ch. 9
	FINAL DRAFT OF PAPER DUE

11Mo Jun 11: Final (4-7pm)

Revised 01 April 1996.