Teaching
Note: Some course websites are password protected; others require a UCInet ID.
Winter 2017
- LPS 241: Foundations of Classical Field Theory
This two-quarter sequence will provide an introduction to differential geometry and classical field theory, including general relativity, Newtonian gravitation, and Yang-Mills theory. Our presentation will differ from a course on these topics offered in a physics or mathematics department in that the emphasis throughout will be on the “foundations” of these physical theories. Some specific topics to be covered may include the logical structure of the theories; the geometrical interpretations of Einstein’s equation, the Yang-Mills equation, and “gauge” potentials; the status, interpretation, and relations between various principles of symmetry and conservation; the causal and topological structure of spacetime; and the relationships between general relativity, the “geometrized” formulation of Newtonian gravitation, and theories of force and matter.
Older Courses
- Social Science H1E: The Good Life, w/ Cailin O’Connor (Spring 2016: Syllabus; Website. Spring 2015: Syllabus; Website.)
- LPS 241: The Philosophy of Howard Stein (Winter 2016: Syllabus.)
- LPS 125H: What is Time? Perspectives from Physics, Philosophy, Fiction, and Film (Winter 2015 & Winter 2016: Website (including past syllabi).)
- LPS 241: Foundations of Quantum Field Theory (Winter & Spring 2015: Website/Syllabus.)
- LPS 241: Foundations of Classical Field Theory (Fall & Winter 2013-14: Syllabus; Website.)
- LPS 40: Scientific Inquiry (Spring 2013 & Fall 2013: Syllabus; Website.)
- LPS 106/206 & Math 180: Category Theory (Spring 2013: Syallbus; Website.)
- LPS 241: Gauge Theories (Fall 2012: Syllabus; Website.)
- Social Science H1G: Naturalized Epistemology and the Social Sciences (Fall 2012, w/ Jeff Barrett; Syllabus; Website.)
- LPS 31: Introduction to Inductive Logic (Spring 2011: Syllabus; Website.)
