91PORN

Rise and Fall of Ancient Rome

Where did the founding fathers of the United States get the idea for the three branches of government? Why does our money have stuff written on it in Latin? Why does the story of the rise and fall of Julius Caesar still resonate? Find the answers to these questions and more in this study of the Rise and Fall of Ancient Rome. We will begin with the myths and legends surrounding Rome's foundation in the eighth century B.C. and then explore how such a small city-state expanded to control one of the largest territorial empires ever known to the western world. We will examine the cultural and political forces that turned a republic into a kind of imperial dictatorship during the first century A.D., how the advent and spread of Christianity both shaped and was shaped by later Roman culture, and we will end the course with an exploration of how the whole structure of society began to fray at the edges when bands of barbarian warriors appeared on Rome's borders during the 4th century. Using a variety of primary and secondary sources, including biographies, novels, poetry, art and architecture, we will put together the story of this ancient civilization and analyze its importance to us today.

Arts & Sciences Gen Ed: Arts & Humanities
3 credit hours