After a high water mark of territorial reach and economic success in the middle of the 2nd century CE, the Roman Empire eventually disintegrated. How? Why? When? In this course, we will consider some of the historical features that may have contributed to its political collapse, and we will consider some modern scholarly analyses from Edward Gibbon (late 18th century) to the present. But we will also investigate “decline and fall” as a narrative trope. Why is this story arc always with us? Who decides what qualifies as “decline”? Is the “fall” of some systems necessarily a bad thing? Among the topics to be considered in the context of the Later Roman Empire are several of relevance in the modern world, not least: climate change, disease, human migration, religious difference, and economic inequality.
After a high water mark of territorial reach and economic success in the middle of the 2nd century CE, the Roman Empire eventually disintegrated. How? Why? When? In this course, we will consider some of the historical features that may have contributed to its political collapse, and we will consider some modern scholarly analyses from Edward Gibbon (late 18th century) to the present. But we will also investigate “decline and fall” as a narrative trope. Why is this story arc always with us? Who decides what qualifies as “decline”? Is the “fall” of some systems necessarily a bad thing? Among the topics to be considered in the context of the Later Roman Empire are several of relevance in the modern world, not least: climate change, disease, human migration, religious difference, and economic inequality.
