Stable Algebraic Topology and Stable Topological Algebra

Algebraic topology is a young subject, and its foundations arenot yet firmly in place. I shall give some history, examplesand modern developments in that part of the subject called stablealgebraic topology, or stable homotopy theory. This is by farthe most calculationally accessible part of algebraic topology,although it is also the least intuitively grounded in visualizablegeometric objects. It has a great many applications to othersubjects such as algebraic geometry and geometric topology.Time will not allow me to say as much as I would like aboutthat. Rather, I shall emphasize some foundational issues thathave been central to this part of algebraic topology since theearly 1960s, but that have been satisfactorily resolved onlyin the last few years. 1991 Mathematics Subject Classification55P42, 55N20.