Math 101b: Algebra Ii Part D: Representations of Finite Groups

For the rest of the semester we will discuss representations of groups, mostly finite groups. An elementary treatment would start with characters and their computation. But the Wedderburn structure theorem will allow us to start at a higher level which will give more meaning to the character tables which we will be constructing. This is from Lang, XVIII, §1-7 with additional material from Serre’s “Linear Representations of Finite Groups” (Springer Graduate Texts in Math 42) and Alperin and Bell’s “Groups and Representations” (Springer GTM 162).