| Instructor: | Dikran Karagueuzian |
| Office: | LN2241 |
| Phone: | (607) 777-2981 |
| Office Hours: | TBA |
Our textbook is Commutative Algebra, by Eisenbud. This book, which aims among other things to prepare the reader for a full-scale course in algebraic geometry, takes a maximalist approach. I aim to cover enough to enable us to understand current work in homological conjectures in commutative algebra. Since Eisenbud's text takes a maximalist approach, which is not necessarily the easiest way to start, I aim to work through Miles Reid's text, Undergraduate Commutative Algebra before we look at the homological material.
There are other standard texts on the subject of which you should be at least vaguely aware. I would nominate the texts by Atiyah and MacDonald, and by Matsumura as the two leading candidates. In addition, the coverage in Dummitt and Foote may be a reasonable place to start if you are already familiar with that book.
I expect to assign a grade on the basis of problem sets. Since we will meet 4 hours per week instead of the usual 3, I propose to stop assigning problems at some point in the semester.