Course Webpage: http://abacus.bates.edu/~pjayawan/309winter07/309w07.html

Please check the webpage and your Bates email regularly for announcements pertaining to our course. The topics that will be covered and the exam dates, homework dates and other submission dates are in the weekly schedule on the course webpage.

Text: Contemporary Abstract Algebra, Sixth Edition, by Joseph A. Gallian (published by Houghton Mifflin Company).

Homework: Four homework assignments are to be handed in during the semester. You will be given the assignments in class at least one week prior to the due date. I encourage you to discuss the homework problems with others but you must write the solutions on your own. Selected homework problems will be graded. Grading will be on both correctness and completeness. Correct answers must be accompanied by coherent and logical explanations to receive full credit. Late homeworks will not be accepted unless there is a genuine emergency. The second homework assignment must be typeset in LaTeX and a part of the grade of this assignment is for correct typesetting of the solutions.

Class participation: We will engage in class discussions as we learn new concepts. We will solve problems and write proofs together on the board or in groups. Not simply attendance, but your active participation is essential for these activities and will count toward the class participation grade. A part of the grade is for comments relevant to the reading assignments, posted at least once a week on the course weblog at http://leeds.bates.edu/math309

Project: You will work individually or in pairs on a paper typeset in LaTeX about a topic of your choice that is related to abstract algebra. Depending on your interest, you could choose to write about an application or the historical background of a topic or a mathematician who has worked in abstract algebra. Your paper must include at least one theorem and its proof. I will give more details about the project as the semester progresses.

Exams: The midterm exam and the final exam are take-home exams. Late exams will not be accepted unless there is a genuine emergency.

Grades: The weights of each category in your final grade are as follows:

Homework: 5% each	Class Participation: 20%	Project: 20%
Midterm exam: 20%	Final exam: 20%

I reserve the right to alter these percentages to account for unforeseen circumstances.

Academic Integrity: The College Code of Student Conduct will be enforced in all the areas of the course and students found to be in violation will be subject to the appropriate disciplinary processes.