Post-modern algebra

by Jonathan D. H. Smith

This volume takes an altogether new approach to advanced algebra. Its intriguing title, inspired by the term postmodernism, denotes a departure from van der Waerden's Modern Algebra - it book that has dominated the field for nearly seventy years. Post-Modern Algebra offers a truly up-to-date alternative to the standard approach, explaining topics from an applications-based perspective rather than by abstract principles alone. The book broadens the field of study to include algebraic structures and methods used in current and emerging mathematical research, and describes the powerful yet subtle techniques of universal algebra and category theory. Classical algebraic areas of groups, rings, fields, and vector spaces are bolstered by such topics as ordered sets, monoids, monoid actions, quasigroups, loops, lattices, Boolean algebras, categories, and Heyting algebras. Post-Modern Algebra is an excellent primary or supplementary text for graduate-level algebra courses. It is also an extreme