MATH 7221 — Topology 2

Course description Welcome to MATH 7221. This course will cover the fundamental computational devices in algebraic topology (the fundamental group, homology and cohomology), as well as their applications to the study of topological spaces (e.g., fixed-point theory, invariance of domain, the Borsuk-Ulam theorem, etc). Prerequisites include point-set topology (e.g., connectedness, compactness, continuity, etc) and abstract algebra (e.g., groups, rings, fields and their homomorphisms).

Syllabus: pdf

Topics:

  • The fundamental group and its computation via covering spaces

  • Cellular and simplicial complexes

  • Chain complexes and basic homological algebra

  • Homology and applications (e.g., Brouwer’s fixed-point theorem, invariance of domain theorem)

  • Cohomology

  • Cup products and applications (e.g., the Borsuk-Ulam theorem)

Lectures:

  • Lecture 1 [09/11/2026] pdf: Course logistics, intro to algebraic topology