Flexam+1+Study+Group+Notes!!

FLEX STUDY GROUP NOTES __ Question 1 __ : It has been said that all great empires sow the seeds of their own destruction. Nero and his pleasure palace __ Question 2: __ Consider the following statement: Westernization is a standardizing force. Do you agree or disagree with this idea? __ Question 3 __** : ** What is the most important lesson to be learned from Rome? __ Question 4: __ Who controls fate – gods or men? __ Question 5: __ Greek influence on Rome.
 * Essay Question Discussion: **
 * Discussion of interior influences that contributed to the downfall of the Roman empire.
 * The end of the Ancient Rome film contains lots o’ info
 * Five reasons:
 * o Overexpansion – Rome, as it expanded, became more and more difficult for the ruling class to govern
 * o Cultural Hegemony – There was no “majority” culture – too much diversity; too many cultures
 * o Poor leadership – Rome went through a series of really awful emperors
 * § Carracala and his incompetency + murder of brother
 * § Caligula – Started fair, by the end of the reign he was a complete and total tyrant
 * o Social inequalities – As the rich got richer, the poor got poorer. Main conflict was patricians (rich) versus plebeians (poor)
 * § Applied to both economic (ex. Rich vs. poor) and social (treatment of women/slaves) conflicts
 * § At the beginning of the Roman republic, the Patricians wielded most of the power. The Plebeians left and formed their own council – eventually, the Patricians began to grant increasing power to the Plebeian council due to the reliance on plebeians that the patricians had.
 * o The conflict created by Constantine moving the capital, converting the empire, and ultimately splitting Rome
 * § Constantine decreed the official religion to be Christianity and established a new capital in Byzantium, which he renamed Constantinople
 * § Ultimately, Diocletian actually //split// the empire into two
 * Key sources: **Triumph of the West**, **Pax Romana** (reading), **Peter Bender: America v. Rome** (reading), **Christianity** (Huston Smith reading)
 * A standardizing force: Creates the bare minimum
 * o Triumph of the West
 * § Cultural conquest is more difficult to determine than political or economic conquest
 * § Examine different aspects of Western culture to build an argument
 * § Meiji Restoration – With this, Japan began to truly westernize, but the Japanese did it on their own terms. Mostly an economic change – politically, they remained the same (worship of the deified emperor)
 * § A lot of Asia was pressured to westernize
 * Argument against Westernization being a standardizing force.
 * o Is Westernization even a force?
 * o Islam successfully pushed back against major westernization, yet many Islamic nations are well-to-do (namely Saudi Arabia, which is still a monarchy)
 * o It is possible to only westernize certain aspects (ex. Japan only westernizing economically)
 * o Standardization may only apply to men but not women (ex. Indian women still wear the Sari)
 * o Westernization was actually forced into Japan.
 * o Be sure to consider the word “standard”. Non-western cultures are often said to be “barbaric”
 * o Do not bite off more than you can chew!!!
 * o “The same blind ambition that drives our progress can also bring about our demise.” – Engineering an Empire
 * o Many American issues can be tied to Roman ones
 * o One idea to consider: America, when founded, did not sponsor or endorse any one religion – Rome __did__.
 * o Lots of ties can be made to question number one
 * o ** Bread and Circuses: **
 * o Food and entertainment were provided for the Roman people by the government to distract them from the numerous issues that affected Rome. Does America do the same?
 * Judaism reading – Human beings make their own decisions.
 * Concept of stoicism – not really what happens to you, but how you react to it
 * Oedipus – although he was a good man, the Gods screwed him in the end.

__ Christianity __ __ Judaism __
 * Be sure to drag in sources from Greek part of the rimester. Ex: examine Parthenon frieze, and how all citizens of Athens were treated equally.
 * SOURCES: **
 * There are three doctrines of Christianity: Trinity, Atonement, and Incarnation.’
 * Trinity
 * The Father/God/The Creator
 * The Son/Jesus/The Savior
 * The Holy Spirit/The Sanctifier
 * Atonement
 * Sin is universal
 * The idea of forgiveness is incorporated into Atonement
 * Incarnation
 * Jesus is both fully God and fully Human
 * The analogy of water – Jesus is both water vapor (humans) and water (God) – so Jesus is steam
 * Things to remember:
 * Zealots were the violent group
 * Rabbi = teacher
 * Dust v. Divinity (capacity to think, feel, love, etc)
 * Why history is important:
 * History is contextual.
 * History has to do with the context in which it is told
 * Social Justice
 * Field of Opportunities
 * Never get the same chance twice

[|Christianity]