Context

Ancient Rome, particularly during the period of the Roman Empire, was one of the most remarkable and influential civilizations in human history. It left concepts and traditions that profoundly affected the cultural, political and social formation of the Western world. Themes such as architecture, law, art, literature, war and administration were significantly impacted by this powerful empire.

Roman domination extended from the 1st century BC to the 5th century AD, covering an area that stretched from Britain (today's Great Britain) to Egypt, and from the Atlantic to the Black Sea. This civilization incorporated numerous different cultures and peoples, extending its legacy throughout Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

The Roman political structure, with its system of laws and governance, served as the basis for many modern democracies, including Brazil's. Roman contributions to literature, philosophy and art continue to be studied and appreciated to this day. And even the Latin language, considered "dead", persists in scientific, legal and religious terms, besides having given rise to several other languages, such as Portuguese.

But beyond its cultural influence, Ancient Rome is a great example of rise, apogee and fall. Analyzing Roman history is an opportunity to understand the cycles of history, the factors that lead to the emergence of great empires, their internal dynamics and the reasons for their eventual decline.

Therefore, the study of Ancient Rome is much more than the study of a distant historical period. It is a way to better understand the world we live in today, its political, social and cultural organization. It is to realize how the decisions of a few men and women can shape the course of history. And to understand that, despite the differences in time and place, there are common elements in the human experience that can help us better understand our own time and place.

To start our study, we recommend some reliable and information-rich sources on the Roman Empire. In addition to the book "Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire" by Simon Baker, which is a pleasant and informative read, the website "Ancient History Encyclopedia" has extensive and detailed material on the empire. In Portuguese, the websites "História do Mundo" and "Brasil Escola" offer didactic texts on various themes related to Ancient Rome. For further study, we recommend the documentary series "Rome: Empire of Blood", available on Netflix.

Practical Activity: "Recreating Rome: An Empire in Models and Debates"

Project Objective

The objective of this project is to deepen students' knowledge about the Roman Empire through research, collaboration and creation. To this end, students will form groups of 3 to 5 people to create a model of an important Roman city during the period of the empire, while researching its historical, social, political and cultural context.

Detailed Project Description

Groups should choose an important city in the Roman Empire to focus their research and the creation of the model. Some suggestions are Rome, Alexandria, Constantinople, among others.

During the research phase, students should focus on four main topics:

1. Politics: What was the importance of the city in the political scenario of the empire? What were the main political buildings? How did the city's politics influence the rest of the empire?

2. Economy: What were the main economic activities of the city? How was the local economy connected to that of the empire as a whole?

3. Society: What was the social structure of the city? What were the existing social groups and how did they interact with each other?

4. Culture: What were the main cultural expressions of the city? How did the local culture relate to Roman culture?

Based on this research, the groups must then design and build a model of the chosen city, highlighting the significant buildings and sites identified. The models can be made with a variety of materials, such as cardboard, clay, toothpicks, etc.

Necessary Materials

• Books and online sources for research
• Material for building the model (cardboard, clay, toothpicks, paint, etc.)

Detailed Step-by-Step Guide to Carrying Out the Activity

1. Formation of groups (3 to 5 students) and choice of the city to be studied.
2. Research on the chosen city, focusing on the four main topics.
3. Planning of the model, including the choice of the main buildings and sites to be included.
4. Construction of the model.
5. Preparation of the final report, including a description of the research carried out, a detailed description of the model and a final reflection on the process and the lessons learned.

Project Delivery

The project will be completed with the delivery of two products: the model of the Roman city and a written report. The report must follow the format of an academic article, with the following elements:

1. Introduction: The introduction should explain the choice of the city, its importance in the context of the Roman Empire and the objective of the project.
2. Development: In this part, students should discuss the research carried out, explain the theory behind the central themes, explain the activity in detail and present and discuss the results obtained.
3. Conclusions: Students should conclude the work by revisiting the main points, explaining the lessons learned and the conclusions drawn about the project.
4. Bibliography used: Students should indicate the sources on which they relied to work on the project.

The project evaluation will consider both the quality of the research and the written report, as well as the creativity and historical accuracy of the model.