Symplectic cohomology (SH) is a Morse theory for special Hamiltonian functions on certain non-compact manifolds. We will start with backgrounds from Hamiltonian dynamics then move to the definition of SH, introduce its product structure and compute examples. If time permits, we will discuss some relations between SH and mirror symmetry and singularity theory. This talk serves as a pre-talk for next week’s ‘Coulomb branch algebras via symplectic cohomology’.