This first part of a two-volume set offers a modern account of the representation theory of finite dimensional associative algebras over an algebraically closed field. The authors present this topic from the perspective of linear representations of finite-oriented graphs (quivers) and homological algebra. The self-contained treatment constitutes an elementary, up-to-date introduction to the subject using, on the one hand, quiver-theoretical techniques and, on the other, tilting theory and integral quadratic forms. Key features include many illustrative examples, plus a large number of end-of-chapter exercises. The detailed proofs make this work suitable both for courses and seminars, and for self-study. The volume will be of great interest to graduate students beginning research in the representation theory of algebras and to mathematicians from other fields.

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A finite-dimensional algebra A over an algebraically closed field K is called periodic if it is periodic under the action of the syzygy operator in the category of A-A-bimodules. The periodic algebras are self-injective and occurred naturally in the study of tame blocks of group algebras, actions of finite groups on spheres, hypersurface singularities of finite Cohen-Macaulay type, and Jacobian algebras of quivers with potentials. Recently, the tame periodic algebras of polynomial growth have been classified and it is natural to attempt to classify all tame periodic algebras. We introduce the weighted surface algebras of triangulated surfaces with arbitrarily oriented triangles and describe their basic properties. In particular, we prove that all these algebras, except the singular tetrahedral algebras, are symmetric tame periodic algebras of period 4. Moreover, we describe the socle deformations of the weighted surface algebras and prove that all these algebras are also symmetric tame periodic algebras of period 4. The main results of this paper form an important step towards a classification of all periodic symmetric tame algebras of non-polynomial growth, and lead to a complete description of all algebras of generalized quaternion type with 2-regular Gabriel quivers [36].