Watch the documentary: Empire without end, episode 01
Read your assigned section of "Why Ancient Rome Matters" and prepare to present.
01. Hunter
02. Caroline
03. Ethan
04. Madeline
Read your section. Prepare a brief summary to share with rest of group. Identify major points of arguments and information supporting arguments. Ideas that grabbed your attention, puzzled you, with which you strongly agree or disagree and/or would like to explore further. A discussion question for the group.
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Added:
Note the treatment of immigrants and border lands by Mary Beard. Then make yourself aware, if you are not, what is happening in policies toward immigrants in America.
Nutshell from the Roman experience: long term, inclusion works better than exclusion. Hard borders fail. Failed.
The so-called "fall of Rome" was really transformation by border people, most of whom wanted to be Roman, not destroy Rome.
A big empire meant big borders and it was not possible to maintain big borders by force.
In less than three centuries the persecuted minority of Christians had captured the alliance of all classes and there was a Christian emperor on the throne (Constantine). Even people whose ancestors were imported into the empire as slaves gained inclusion, wealth and citizenship within a few generations, or shorter. In the first two centuries of the empire there were several Spanish emperors and one African one. Soon those with "barbarian" pedigrees were also ruling.
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