Association of Women in Mathematics - Illinois Graduate Chapter

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AWM Graduate Colloquium: Category Theory, Yoneda Theory, and Factorizations

Event Type
Seminar/Symposium
Sponsor
Association for Women in Mathematics
Location
141 Altgeld Hall
Date
Nov 19, 2025   4:00 pm  
Speaker
Ea E Thompson
Contact
Yansy Perez
E-Mail
yansyp2@illinois.edu
Views
3

Abstract: Category theory provides an essential framework for many areas of mathematics, ranging all the way from algebra to geometry. One of the central philosophies of category theory is encoded in the Yoneda lemma, which heuristically says understanding a mathematical object is the same as understanding maps into it, or maps out of it. This philosophy exists in many extensions of category theory, including enriched category theory, quasi-categories, and n-fold categories. 

One of the fundamental consequences of the Yoneda lemma is that we can consider dependent products over categories, allowing for a powerful internal logic in category theory. In this talk we will discuss the relationship between the existence of such dependent products, the existence of Yoneda lemmas, and the existence of factorizations in certain weak extensions of category theory.

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