By what means was imperial power supported and resisted? How was imperial ideology communicated and reified? How was imperial control enforced? Who confronted imperial power and what sort of sources do we have for their experiences? What do different examples of challenges to imperial authority reveal about the nature of state power in the Roman empire?

Final Exam:  Before starting the Final, please consult the guidelines for exams that are described in a separate document.And Please completely read through all the materials first, which including  Ancient Evidence readings and text book Chapter 8-14. Choose FOUR for the following topics. For each topic, respond in 400-500 words with two to three examples that you have encountered in the textbook, the assigned , and class presentations/discussions. You may refer to material from the first half of course, but your discussions should center on material from the second half. There is no need for you to do any additional research.
1. By what means was imperial power supported and resisted? How was imperial ideology communicated and reified? How was imperial control enforced? Who confronted imperial power and what sort of sources do we have for their experiences? What do different examples of challenges to imperial authority reveal about the nature of state power in the Roman empire?
2. To what extent could women in the Roman world assert their agency? What systemic practices and institutions constrained the lives of women and the options available to them? How varied were the experiences of women across lines of class, status and geography? What features of Roman ideologies around gender emerge from our sources?
3. What role did religion play in political projects? How was religion connected to the cohesion of communities in the Roman world? To what extent was religious diversity tolerated? What was the relationship between the public or social practice of religion and the formation of personal identity?
4. How did the geography of the Roman world change over time? Where at various moments do centers of political and economic power shift? How do these developments correlate with other aspects of Roman government and imperialism? What sorts of interactions took place across extended geographic distances? How are these forms of communication mediated?
5. How does the nature of our sources shape our understanding of Roman history? What kind of biases or perspectives should inform the way we evaluate specific sources? How can different sources on the same topic enrich our understanding of that issue?