Résumé : Several recent papers on surface dynamics have used transverse foliations and maximal isotopies for homeomorphisms isotopic to the identity as a main tool in their work. In this mini-course we will introduce the basic concepts behind this tool and show a new way o deriving useful dynamical information by means of a forcing procedure. The applications involve ways of obtaining existence of non-contractible periodic points with consequences for rotation sets of toral homeomorphisms, exponential growth of periodic orbits and estimates on topological entropy of maps.