Students should analyze the vast expansion and ultimate collapse of the Roman Empire because it serves as an important example of how a society can thrive as well as disintegrate. Through the study of the Roman empire, students will be able to question and study their own society by analyzing the Roman Empire's view on citizenship and the rights given under roman law. Students will also be able to see how undermining the laws of citizenship lead to an Empire's destruction. Another fault of the Roman Empire was a lack of education among all of its members. Studying how a lack of education can negatively affect a society encourages students to strive to be educated citizens. The Geographical borders also played an important role in the Roman Empire's fall, and students will be asked to analyze why the geographical locations had a negative effect on the empire, as well as questioning how the United State's geographical boarders might threaten its own territorial cohesion. Lastly, a discussion of the Roman Empire would not be complete without bringing up the spread of Christianity and the two opposing views on church state relations held by the Roman Catholic church and the Eastern Orthodox church. Students will sharpen their historical skills through an analysis of both distinct views and will organize their findings into a paper on the issue of church state relations in the Roman Empire. Students will also be using their findings to relate it to the United State's view on church state relations and have opportunities to have educated discussions on the matter with their classmates.
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