250117 VO Symmetric spaces (2013W)

I will discuss symmetric spaces from a geometric point of view.
In the first lectures, I will investigate some elementary properties of
the geometry of symmetric spaces, like geodesics, curvature,
and Jacobi fields. This will be followed by a discussion of Riemannian
symmetric pairs, maximal flat subspaces, roots, and related topics. In
addition, I will introduce a number of examples. Speed and the
specific topics of the lectures will also depend on the audience.
I assume some familiarity with basic concepts of Riemannian geometry.