Sean Carroll: Teaching

"[The challenge of the actor] is to open the mouth, stand straight, and say the words bravely - adding nothing, denying nothing, and without the intent to manipulate anyone: himself, his fellows, the audience."

-- David Mamet



I don't do any regular teaching as part of my job here at Caltech, although something might come up if the conditions are just right. I have recorded a 24-lecture course for the Teaching Company, which everyone is able (and encouraged!) to purchase.

All of the below descriptions refer to courses at the University of Chicago, unless otherwise noted.

During Spring 2006 I taught Physics 371, the graduate-level introduction to cosmology, which I also taught in Autumn 2001. Since GR is not a prerequisite and time was short, the course focused more on particle cosmology than on structure formation and the CMB.

In Winter 2005 I taught Physics 364, the graduate course in general relativity, just as I did in 2001 and 2003. That was the first time I was able to force students to buy my own textbook. The book grew out of a graduate course I taught long ago at MIT, the record of which is contained in the Lecture Notes on General Relativity.

In Spring 2002 and 2004 I taught Physics 264, "Spacetime and Black Holes." It is a course on general relativity for undergraduates. It will likely be taught every year from now on, alternating between Bob Wald and me. There aren't many prerequisites, but you do have to be prepared to learn some serious mathematics as we go.

I taught Physics 363, the graduate course in particle physics, in 2000 and 2002. Most insightful comment from student evaluations: "Professor Carroll sometimes hides the ugly truth in order to make things seem comprehensible."

In Winter 2004 I taught a Big Problems course, Moments in Atheism, with Shadi Bartsch (Classics). It was a College course for third- and fourth-year undergraduates, although others sneaked in without getting hurt.

In Fall 2002 and 2004 Stuart Gazes and I taught Physics 300, a seminar for first-year graduate students on "The Teaching and Learning of Physics".



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