ARMENIAN PRINTED GEOMETRY TEXTBOOKS OF THE 19TH CENTURY

Abstract

This article examines a brief history of the development of methodological thought in teaching geometry and its influence on the development of Armenian educational literature on geometry. Geometry, as an academic subject, has been taught in Armenian schools since ancient times. Until the end of the 18th century, it was taught from manuscript translations of Euclid's Elements (by G. Magister and G. Kesaretsi). General comments are given on the nature of Euclid's presentation of the Elements. In the second half of the 18th and early 19th centuries, influenced by the advanced French methodological ideas of the time and based on the textbooks of Bezout, Legendre, and Lacroix, Armenian authors (A. Taghiyan, S. Pronyan, Papazyan, A. Charyan, G. Terteryan) compiled valuable textbooks.In the second half of the 19th century, Armenian methodological thought in the field of teaching geometry embarked on new research. Armenian methodologists and leading teachers studied the textbooks and practices of advanced European and Russian schools. The best French, German, and Russian geometry textbooks of the time, by Karbantiz, Moshnik, L. Thilo, A. Diesterweg, and A. Davidov, were translated into Armenian. Finally, creatively reworking both previous Armenian and the best European and Russian textbooks, Armenian authors (A. Papikyan, M. Sahakyan, V. Azarapetyan, A. Falagashyan, M. Ter-Sarkisyan, and others) have compiled original geometry textbooks. The article provides brief descriptions of the structure and scientific and methodological frameworks of the textbooks by these authors.