Staging the Compelling Question- Debate the extent to which mathematicians can predict the rise and fall of empires.
- Darren Orf, article discussing the ability to predict the rise of empires, “Can Math Predict the Rise and Fall of Empires?”©2013 Popular Mechanics. http://www.popularmechanics.com/culture/a9539/can-math-predict-the-rise-and-fall-of-empires-15960155/
- "Synopsis of Rome: An Empire's Story" (available in Toolkit)
- Digital atlas of Roman and Medieval civilization (available in Toolkit)
- Map- The National Archives UK. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/heroesvillains/g3/cs1/g3cs1s1.htm
- Edward Gibbon, articulation of the reasons for Rome’s decline, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (excerpts), 1776 http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/25717?msg=welcome_stranger
- W. Richard Stephens, “The Fall of Rome Reconsidered: A Synthesis of Manpower and Taxation” Mid-American Review of Sociology (1982). http://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/bitstream/handle/1808/4925/MARSV7N2A3.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
- Nick Squires, article arguing reasons for Rome’s decline, “What Led to the Fall of the Roman Empire” (excerpts), The Telegraph, 2011 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/8438599/What-led-to-the-fall-of-the-Roman-Empire.html
Supporting Question 3- Was the Roman Empire's fall an abrupt change?
- Edward Champlin, examination of the fall of the Roman Empire, “The Myth of ‘Decline and Fall’” (excerpts), National Geographic, 1994/1998
- Other sources are excerpts available in the Toolkit.
Supporting Question 4- To what extent did the Roman Empire transform?
- Excerpt from "Roman Realities" (available in Toolkit)
- Excerpt from The Myth of 'Decline and Fall'" (available in Toolkit)
- Glen Bowersock, examination of the fall of the Roman Empire, “The Vanishing Paradigm of the Fall of Rome” (excerpts), Bulletin of the American Academy of Sciences, May, 1996
Additional Resources:
- Boin, Doug. “The Fall of Rome and All That” Time April 2, 2015, http://time.com/3770474/fall-of-rome/
- Kaplan, Robert D. “In Defense of Empire” The Atlantic. April 2014, http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/04/in-defense-of-empire/358645/