Graph theory is known for its accessibility, applicability and charm. Many of its questions can be posed to a fourth-grader -- including some unanswered ones. Many have obvious applications ("Where can the city put its espresso stands so that nobody is more than four blocks from one?") In addition, well within the range of the amateur are a number of really beautiful mathematical theorems.
A further current attraction to studying graph theory is that several of the recently developed high school curricula include a fair amount of it (sometimes under the title of "Finite Math".)
We will look at a bunch of the problems, historical and modern, solved and unsolved. We will work on them together as a class and also in groups, as discussion topics and as projects.
This course is accessible to anyone willing to dive in and tussle with a problem. It requires remarkably little by way of prior mathematical knowledge. The only necessity is being able to learn from everybodyıs efforts and errors -- including your own!
For more information send e-mail to < warfield@math.washington.edu>.