For this discussion let’s have a debate! Although much is made of the republican legacy of Rome in the United States, there is also the issues of empire (tolerance, citizenship, and slavery, for instance) and European/American imperialism and global intervention. First read the following article at BBC History, Empires of the Absent Mind: Rome and the USA Then briefly answer the prompt: What parallels can be found between the ideals and the actions of the Roman republic and its 21st century superpower equivalent, the United States of America? Name at least 2. Make either a critique or a defense of one of these. Remember that a good argument should always consider the opposing opinion.

(Important: All posts should be brief paragraphs, 5-7 sentences with no quoted or paraphrased material. Please use your own words. Longer posts with irrelevant information will have points deducted.)

Post on Time: All Discussion posts are due Wednesdays. You must post your initial discussion by the due date. After the due date you will have 2 days to respond to others (including responding to the professor if asked). If your initial post is not by the due date, you will receive a 0 for the assignment. Please note that you must post before seeing the work of other students. If you write an initial post in order to see other responses, then delete it and repost, or return to “edit” a post, you will receive a 0 grade.

Keep it Short: Do NOT post more than 5 sentences and stick to the point. (any posts longer than 5 sentences will be deleted and you will be asked to re-post.) No one wants to read an entire essay or a bunch of random information. Make it short and conversational and answer the prompts directly. (Don’t rephrase the prompt either, answer it instead.)