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I am teaching Algebra 1 (MA 212) during the Aug-Dec 2023 semester.

Course details:
Class timings: MWF 10-11 am
MS Team code: 6ah7hyp

Brief description
The main topics and results that we will be covering in this course are

  • Group theory
  • Ring theory
  • Module theory

    • A more detailed list of topics can be found here.

    Grading
    There will be a homework assignment every week (roughly). The lowest homework score is dropped.
    There will be a quiz every other week (roughly). The lowest quiz score will be dropped.

  • Homework: 35%
  • Quizzes: 15%
  • Midterm exam: 20%
  • Final exam 30%

    • Prerequisites
    UM 205 Introduction to Algebraic Structures

    Familiarity with writing proofs and some comfort level with mathematical abstraction will be expected.

    References
    The main reference textbooks for this course will be

  • Lang: Algebra
  • Dummit and Foote: Abstract Algebra
  • Artin: Algebra
  • Herstein: Topics in algebra

    • Miscellaneous:

  • There will be no backup exams. The exams will not be rescheduled. No late homework will be accepted. Instead, the lowest homework score will be dropped.
  • Discussions: You are encouraged to discuss homework questions and the course content on the discussion forum on MS Teams. If you have a mathematical question or a general question about the course, I will redirect you to the discussion forum and ask you to post it here so that it may benefit everyone. If you would like to send me an email about this course, please write MA 212 in the subject. If your email contains general questions about the course, I may not respond to your email since I would prefer it be posted on the discussion forum.
  • Ethics: Obtaining external help (for e.g. seeking solutions on the internet, requesting solutions on external forums, discussing with students not in this course, etc) will be considered plagiarism. On the other hand, you are encouraged to discuss with other students in this course. Please read the IISC student ethics guide. I will expect you to be ethical.

    • photo credit: Chris Williams

    Bharathwaj Palvannan
    Assistant Professor, 2021-
    X04, Department of Mathematics,
    Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore
    bharathwaj [at] iisc [dot] ac [in]

    Research interests:
    Number theory
    CV

    Postdoctoral fellow, NCTS, '19-21
    Hans Rademacher Instructor, UPenn, '16-19
    PhD, UW, '10-16

    Template acknowledgment:
    Tom Preston--Werner