Here are some of the topics that students have put forward in their proposals for their position papers in this course over the past few years. Some are general directions, while others are specific questions of the kind you will need as the basis for your proposal.

If you’re stuck for a topic, browse through the categories and think about what ideas and questions you might be interested in exploring, finding evidence, and expressing your own thoughts and interpretations. Use these past topics as guides in formulating a problem or debate on which you can take a position in your paper, or as inspiration for a new topic no one has explored before.

Regal Period

Kingly power and imperium
Was overthrowing the Roman kings the right move?

Roman Republic

End of the Republic
Growth of Rome after transition to Roman Republic
How radical was Tiberius Gracchus?
Impact of Cato the Elder
Is Sulla misunderstood?
Marius and Sulla’s Contribution to the End of the Roman Republic
Military Reform Caused the Collapse of the Roman Republic
Plebeians’ role in building Rome
Populares as leaders
Sulla: dictator or savior?
Sulla’s Legacy of Violence
The motivations of the populares
The need for Sulla
The real reasons why the Roman Republic collapsed
Tiberius Gracchus

Acquisition of Empire

Acquisition of empire and the end of the Republic
Did Rome have a grand strategy?
Effects of Roman culture on other peoples
Imperialism as a response to the Sack of Rome
Roman adaptation
Roman expansion
Roman expansionism as imperialism or reaction
Roman Imperialism & Internal Instability in the Roman Republic
Rome as imperialist aggressor
Rome knew exactly what it was doing: Romanization

Rome and Italy

The Roman war with the Latins

Rome and Carthage

Causes and effects of the First Punic War
Causes and effects of the Second Punic War
Hannibal and Carthage’s defeat
Hannibal and Rome
Hannibal as a great general
Hannibal Barca
Hannibal’s ultimate defeat in the Second Punic War
Sack of Syracuse
Was Hannibal a good leader?
Were the Three Punic Wars necessary for the advancement of Roman civilization?

Caesar and Augustus

Augustus as savior of Rome
Augustus vs. Caesar
Caesar, savior or tyrant?
Caesar’s Decision at the Rubicon
Caesar’s reign brought greater instability to Rome
Did Caesar’s tyranny end with his death?
Julius Caesar Leadership in Rome
Julius Caesar, Savior or Tyrant
Livia’s private intelligence and its impact on Augustus
Reasons for Caesar’s assassination
The legacy of Julius Caesar

Roman Principate

Marcus Aurelius: The beginning of the end?
Downfall of Rome
The corruption and fall of Rome
The Fall of Rome and the Greed of its Leaders
Was the Roman Empire brought down from the outside, or did it essentially collapse under the weight of its own internal issues?
When was the actual fall of the Roman Empire?

Rome and Europe

Gauls vs. Rome
Rome and Illyria
Rome and Ireland

Rome and the Greeks

Greek impact on Roman culture
Hellenization
Philip V against Rome

Rome and Egypt

Roman accounts of Cleopatra
The Role of Egypt in the Roman Civil Wars
Roman Egypt

Militarism

Roman power through military adaptation
The changing identity of the Roman army
The Roman Legion was as much a blessing as it was a curse for Rome

Society, Economy, and Culture

Roman Gladiatorial Games and Violence
Slavery In Ancient Rome
Slavery in the Roman world
Taxation vs the citizens
Treatment of slaves in Rome

Arts and Literature

Art and Culture in Ancient Rome
Greek influence on Roman culture
Greek vs Roman Art

Technology and Engineering

Effects of lead poisoning
Geography as an early Roman advantage

Religion and Philosophy

Christianity in the Empire
Christianization
Christianization and Rome vs. Constantinople
Roman messianism as a determining factor in the Christianization of the Roman
Roman Religion versus Christianity
Stoicism in Rome
The importance of religion to the Roman Empire

Gender

Empowerment of Roman women
Voice and agency of Roman women in support of male power
Women in Rome
Women’s political power in Rome