Introduction

I am truly honored to be asked to speak on integrating the history of mathematics in mathematics education. Advocating the teaching of mathematics using history is presumably not very controversial at this conference, more like “preaching to the choir”, as one says in English. But I wish to be somewhat provocative, perhaps even controversial, by suggesting a dream I have had for some time, that all students should learn the principal content of their mathematics directly from studying primary sources, i.e., from the words of the original discoverers or creators of new mathematics, as is done in the humanities, where students read the great original literature, not just about the great literature. In other words, I propose that we rebuild the entire mathematics curriculum at all levels around translated primary sources studied directly by our students. If you think this is extreme, then at least I am fulfilling the role of being a provocative speaker.

My belief that we should and can aim for a mathematics curriculum that is rich throughout in primary sources has developed only very slowly from my own experiences in the past twenty years. First I would like to describe this personal evolution, because it reflects very clearly some of the important challenges involved in implementing my dream.

A Personal Odyssey as an Illustration of Issues

First I co-developed two one-semester courses for beginning and advanced undergraduate university students, based entirely on primary historical sources.