This year's version of WETSK (What Every Topologist Should Know) will have a theme of "hyperplane arrangements".
The complement of a finite union of hyperplanes in a finite-dimensional complex vector space is a really cool topological space.
We will cover some general topics in topology, but everything we cover will be illustrated by examples of this form.
<br><br>
The <a href=wetsk-papers.html>list of topics</a> is here.
<br><br><hr><br>
The following is what is expected of the students in this class.
<br><br>
<b>AS A SPEAKER:</b>
<br><br>
<b>1.  Meet with me at least once per week until your first talk.</b>
<br><br>
During these meetings, you will obviously be able to ask me questions about the content of your paper(s), the context of the results
(especially in relation to the other talks), and various expositional issues.  In addition, you should expect me to ask you some questions.
Examples of questions I might ask, and that you should be as prepared to answer as you can, are:
	<ul type=disc>
	<li>What are the main results of this paper?
	<li>What are some good examples (or non-examples) to illustrate these results? 
	<li>What is the big picture of how these results are proved?
	<li>What is the technical heart of the argument?
	<li>What parts of the paper do you plan to cover in your talk?
	<li>Could you give me an outline of your talk?
	</ul>
<b>2.  Give a practice talk.</b>
<br><br>
You must give a full-length, fully prepared, practice version of (the first 50 minutes of) your presentation.  
At the very latest, this should happen on the day of the first talk of the person speaking before you,
so that you have time to make adjustments.  
That means that when the person two topics before you is up, it's time to schedule your practice talk!
If you plan to speak for more than one class period (as most of you will),
then I recommend that you practice each installment, but only the first one will be required for class credit.
<br><br>
Your partner for this exercise will be the person with the topic adjacent to yours.  Thus, the speakers for topics 1 and 2
will practice on each other, and so on.
<br><br>
<b>3.  Give your talks.</b>
<br><br>
This one is pretty self-explanatory.  Each topic will take somewhere between 1 and 3 lectures.  The number
of topics assigned to each person will depend on enrollment, as well as how quickly we get through the first 8 topics.
<br><br><br>
<b>AS A LISTENER:</b>
<br><br>
<b>4.  Listen to a practice talk.</b>
<br><br>
After hearing your partner's practice talk,
I would like you to write an email (to the speaker and me) with feedback.  Among other things, you should
describe what you perceived to be the main point of the talk.
(If your answer is different from the answer that the speaker would have given, that's useful information!)
This email should be sent on the same day as the practice talk.
<br><br>
<b>5.  Look at everybody's paper.</b>
<br><br>
Before each speaker begins his or her presentation, you should look at the paper(s) that are being discussed
and write an email (to the speaker and me) with one question or comment.  This could be as simple as "I don't know the meaning
of the word 'matroid' in the second sentence of the introduction," or it could be something deeper.
This may be useful information for the speaker, but it is mostly meant to put you in a better position to get something out of the talks.
I would like to receive emails from everybody by the night before each presentation.  (If you are the speaker or the practice talk listener,
then this does not apply to you.)