C. Herbert Clemens

This is a book of "impressions" of a journey through the theory of com­ plex algebraic curves. It is neither self-contained, balanced, nor particularly tightly organized. As with any notebook made on a journey, what appears is that which strikes the writer's fancy. Some topics appear because of their compelling intrinsic beauty. Others are left out because, for all their impor­ tance, the traveler found them boring or was too dull or lazy to give them their due. Looking back at the end of the journey, one can see that a common theme in fact does emerge, as is so often the case; that theme is the theory of theta functions. In fact very much of the material in the book is prepara­ tion for our study of the final topic, the so-called Schottky problem. More than once, in fact, we tear ourselves away from interesting topics leading elsewhere and return to our main route.

This fine book by Herb Clemens quickly became a favorite of many algebraic geometers when it was first published in 1980. It has been popular with novices and experts ever since. It is written as a book of 'impressions' of a journey through the theory of complex algebraic curves. Many topics of compelling beauty occur along the way. A cursory glance at the subjects visited reveals a wonderfully eclectic selection, from conics and cubics to theta functions, Jacobians, and questions of moduli. By the end of the book, the theme of theta functions becomes clear, culminating in the Schottky problem. The author's intent was to motivate further study and to stimulate mathematical activity. The attentive reader will learn much about complex algebraic curves and the tools used to study them. The book can be especially useful to anyone preparing a course on the topic of complex curves or anyone interested in supplementing his/her reading.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Phillip Griffiths and his collaborators undertook a study of period mappings and variation of Hodge structure. The motivating problems, which centered on the understanding of algebraic varieties and the algebraic cycles on them, came from algebraic geometry. However, the techiques used were transcendental in nature, drawing heavily on both Lie theory and hermitian differential geometry. Promising approaches were formulated to fundamental questions in the theory of algebraic curves, moduli theory, and the deep interaction between Hodge theory and algebraic cyles. Rapid progress on many fronts was made in the 1970s and 1980s, including the discovery of important connections to other fields, including Nevanlinna theory, integrable systems, rational homotopy theory, harmonic mappings, intersection cohomology, and superstring theory. This volume contains thirteen papers presented during the Symposium on Complex Geometry and Lie Theory held in Sundance, Utah in May 1989. The symposium was designed to review twenty years of interaction between these two fields, concentrating on their links with Hodge theory. The organizers felt that the time was right to examine once again the large issues of understanding the moduli and cycle theory of higher-dimensional varieties, which was the starting point of these developments. The breadth of this collection of papers indicates the continuing growth and vitality of this area of research. Several survey papers are included, which should make the book a valuable resource for graduate students and other researchers who wish to learn about the field. With contributions from some of the field's top researchers, this volume testifies to the breadth and vitality of this area of research.

This workbook is intended for college courses for prospective or in-service secondary school teachers of geometry. It contains solutions and commentary to the numerous exercises in the accompanying workbook.

Intended for use in college courses for prospective or in-service secondary school teachers of geometry. Designed to give teachers broad preparation in the content of elementary geometry as well as closely related topics of a slightly more advanced nature. The presentation and the modular format are designed to incorporate a flexible methodology for the teaching of geometry, one that can be adapted to different classroom settings. The basic strategy is to develop the few fundamental concepts of elementary geometry, first in intuitive form, and then more rigorously. The rest of the material is then built up out of these concepts through a combination of exposition and "guided discovery" in the problem sections. A separate volume including the solutions to the exercises is also available.