Introductory Topology
Fall 2009

Time and place: Wed 17:15 -- 18:30 East Hall 3, Th 14:15 -- 15:30 East Hall 4
Instructor: Pavel Tumarkin
e-mail: p dot tumarkin at jacobs-university dot de
Office: Research I, 130; Phone: 200-3517
Office hours: Th 16:00 -- 17:00 and by appointment

Tutorial: Monday, 19:00, East Hall 3

Teaching Assistant: Orif Ibrogimov
e-mail: o dot ibrogimov at jacobs-university dot de
Office: Research I, 127
Office hours: Wed 19:00 -- 20:00

Textbooks: O.Ya.Viro, O.A.Ivanov, V.M.Kharlamov, N.Y.Netsvetaev, Elementary Topology: Problem Textbook. A shorten version can be found here.
V.V.Prasolov, Elements of Combinatorial and Differential Topology

Course content: Topological spaces, homotopy, fundamental groups, van Kampen's theorem, coverings, cell complexes, classification of closed surfaces, configuration spaces.

Midterm: There will be a take-home midterm exam. The midterm will be posted at 1pm on Friday, October 30, and is due Tuesday, November 3, 1 pm. Please drop the midterm in the mailbox "ESM 1B" located in the entrance hall of Research I. There will be no excuses for late submissions.

Homeworks: There will be regular homework assignments.

Grading policy:

Grades will be computed according to the following rule (subject to minor changes):

Cutoff score: 95% 90% 85% 80% 75% 70% 65% 60% 55% 50% 45%
Grade: 1.0 1.33 1.66 2.0 2.33 2.66 3.0 3.33 3.66 4.0 4.33