110.616 Algebraic Topology --- Spring 2009


This page last modified 23 APR 2009 by JMB
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This is the second half of the standard full-year introductory graduate course on algebraic topology. The text for this course is:

Algebraic Topology by Allen Hatcher (more below).
The general plan is to cover Chapter 3 of the book, on cohomology, and related topics. There is some flexibility as to just which topics will be covered.

COURSE HANDOUTS See the listing of course handouts. These will amplify and supplement selected topics that are treated only briefly in the book, if at all.

LECTURES are on

Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:00-10:15, in Krieger 304.

Reading Assignments There will be regular reading assignments for the course. The current reading assignment, from Hatcher, is

Chapter 3, Section 3.B, pages 268-280.

Bring the book to class, so we can work from it directly.

Homework There will be regular homework assignments.
Here is Assignment 5:

Section 3.3 Exercises (p.257-260): Do problems 8, 18, 19, 20, 22, 28.
Due Tuesday, April 28.

Here is Assignment 4:
Section 3.3 Exercises (p.257-260): Do problems 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 11.
Due Tuesday, April 14.

Here is Assignment 3:
Section 3.2 Exercises (p.228-230): Do problems 3, 7, 9, 12, 13.
Due Tuesday, March 31.

Here is Assignment 2:
Section 3.2 Exercises (p.228-230): Do problems 1, 2, 6, 8, 10, 11.
Due Tuesday, March 10.

Here is Assignment 1:

Section 3.1 Exercises (p.204-206): Do problems 2, 4, 5, 6, 11.
Due Tuesday, February 24.

Discussion of homework problems with others is allowed, and indeed encouraged; but what you turn in should be your own work, in your own words.

There will be no written examination for the course. However, the course is intended to serve as useful preparation for the Qualifying Examination in Algebraic Topology.

As noted above, the text for the whole year is: Algebraic Topology by Allen Hatcher, published in 2002 by Cambridge University Press.
You can also get the full text on-line directly from the author, with errata too, if you wish. (Older editions have quite a few errata.)
Another book worth noting is E. H. Spanier - Algebraic Topology; this is encyclopedic, but it can be hard to find one's way around in it. Nevertheless, it is valuable as a reference because it contains much material that you won't find anywhere else, and is highly recommended for anyone planning to go further in algebraic topology.

The professor is J. Michael Boardman.

photo of Boardman

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