This introductory course is intended to serve as a foundation, and will be a prerequisite for many other advanced mathematics courses. The focus will be on mathematics for its own sake, rather than for applications. There will be an overview of the history of mathematics, an introduction to modern mathematical logical structures and concepts, and work on strategies for problem solving. Modern mathematics – since the twentieth century – is written in a common conceptual framework, and this class is an introduction to that framework and the reasons for it. Students will need to be comfortable with mathematical reasoning at the level of high school algebra. The course does not have any overlap with standard high school mathematics, so it is also appropriate for students who have done extensive work in mathematics in high school.

This class was formerly titled Introduction to Pure Mathematics and will count similarly toward course prerequisites.