Drawing a Big Picture
As you will notice from the handouts this week, this is the time of the quarter when you need to start putting things together. My job, at this point, will be to help you begin to make some of the connections needed to form a big picture - one coherent whole and not just fragmented parts. This week, we (which really means, you) will need to focus on the Romans. You are trying to determine the relationship between modern Western Culture and the Roman culture. There are all kind of physical or material connections but from a cultural standpoint one of the most significant contributions to Western Culture from the Romans is an overall mindset towards one’s country. During the pinnacle of Roman civilization, the noblest virtue for any citizen was the "duty to state." This phrase implies sincere and even extreme patriotism. As you conduct your research about the Romans, you will need to look for specific examples of this kind of patriotism, as this is one of the most significant influences upon modern Western Culture. Consider how this ideal might fit in with your perception of Western Culture today (the United States). What does the ideal of duty and honor to country mean to people in today's society? How willing are you to die for your country, for “freedom”? Examples?

A lot of this project wilkl be based on your own views and ideas of duty and honour. However, t this website will give you a good idea of how duty and honour was seen in Roman society:
http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:vsac6YYuefUC:axe.acadiau.ca/~043638z/papers/aeneid.pdf+%22duty+to+one's+country%22+rome&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
(just copy and paste into your browser)

To help you with a modern-day view of duty and honour, you could look at the appeal of Star Wars movies, and see if you could interview someone who serves in the military.