This volume contains the lectures presented at the third Regional Geometry Institute at Park City in 1993. The lectures provide an introduction to the subject, complex algebraic geometry, making the book suitable as a text for second- and third-year graduate students. The book deals with topics in algebraic geometry where one can reach the level of current research while starting with the basics.

Topics covered include the theory of surfaces from the viewpoint of recent higher-dimensional developments, providing an excellent introduction to more advanced topics such as the minimal model program. Also included is an introduction to Hodge theory and intersection homology based on the simple topological ideas of Lefschetz and an overview of the recent interactions between algebraic geometry and theoretical physics, which involve mirror symmetry and string theory.

Readership

Graduate students and research mathematicians interested in algebraic geometry, and theoretical physicists interested in mirror symmetry and string theory.