Dr. Raaflaub teaching the group about the role of peace (pax or concordia) in Roman thought.
Today, Kurt Raaflaub from Brown University spoke to us about the age of Augustus, Ancient Roman multiculturalism, and Ancient Roman peace. Dr. Raaflaub was extremely knowledgeable and concise. When we spoke over breakfast, he told me that he had written a journal articles about the power and cultural infiltration of the epic style of storytelling. He compared classic epics like The Odyssey and the Iliad to modern tales like Star Trek and Star Wars. Isn't it cool when a strong academic can link something from classical antiquity to a common piece of popular culture? Dr. Raaflaub is top notch in my book!
A piece of information that stood out to me during our lectures was the slight comparisons between the present day US and the Roman Republic/Empire. The late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire were heavily influenced by a variety of people groups (e.g., Etruscans, Phoenicians, Greeks) and often integrated many of these groups' modified customs into their own lives. For example, the Eastern influences on Greek and Roman culture were massive: mythology, writing, mathematics, philosophy, religion, art, crafts, technology, you name it! But I think the coolest things (that reminds me of the present US culture) is that the Romans did not just embrace some of these outside ideas, but instead diffused them into the forming Roman culture. These cultural changes were not a one-way infusion but rather an interactive process. Reminds me of multicultural and interactive way of many US communities. . . a blending together of many different ways of doing and being. . .
Awesome day. Lots of information. Can't wait to see Italy. :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment