18.904: Syllabus
Course Materials
- W.S. Massey, Algebraic Topology: An Introduction.
Graduate Texts in Mathematics 56, Springer-Verlag, 1977.
- A. Hatcher, Algebraic Topology.
(optional secondary reference)
Cambridge University Press, 2002.
AVAILABLE FREE ONLINE:
download.
The primary book for the course is Massey's introductory text. Beware!
There are two other books in the GTM series (GTM 70 and GTM 127) by Massey,
which are different. I have also put a link above for Allen Hatcher's FREE
online book. The material covered in this course is also contained in the
beginning of Hatcher, which is an excellent text with many examples and
pictures. I've decided to go with Massey's text as our primary source
because it spends more
time on the material we plan on covering, and gives a very careful
exposition.
Course Format
This course is of the "seminar format":
you, the students, will be giving
all of the
lectures. We will (ideally) have two lectures per class
meeting. Because of the intimate nature of the class there will be very
little in the way of formal homework. There will be a final project. There
are no exams. At least for your first lectures, you will arrange a meeting
outside of class with me to do a practice lecture.
Grading
your grade will be determined by:
70% - lectures/class participation
30% - written work (mainly your project)
Your class participation grade will be determined by both the quality, and
the degree of improvement, of
your lectures, and your attendance.
Final project
There will be a final project where you will read and write about a topic
in topology that is not covered in class. I will give you more details,
examples, and
ideas as the semester approaches. The final project will be at least 10
pages in length, and you will be required to write it in TeX. If you are
not yet acquainted with the joys of TeX, don't worry - you'll learn!