Observational Studies of Galaxies in the Very Early Universe: Prospects and Pitfalls

Observations of galaxies at z>5-10 are challenging, yet the past 10-15 years have seen a steep growth in such investigations in the literature. This semester, we will (continue to) have a look at selected topics that have been published in the past 12-18 months. To provide some additional context for these studies, I will give a brief overview of some of the most active areas of research in this field. To highlight some of the difficulties that researchers encounter along the way, I will also provide a bit of a historical perspective on attempts to push the redshift barrier, some of which were more successful than others. This can help us to better understand some of the recent debates about z>10 candidates in the literature.