Day Two

Day two was the first day of tourism, and it was great. The first stop was the Circus Maximus. I was amazed at how large it is, or was, because only the depression of the structure was all that was left. Yet, the ambiance of the park was still amazing, although there was nothing there to indicate the enormity of the structure.

We then went to the Baths of Caracalla. I have seen pictures of this place, but I never understood the enormity of it. Even though in ruins, this place still had an imposing stature. I could not and cannot fathom such large structure devoted to personal hygiene. Of all the archaeological sights, this is my favorite.

After a nice lunch and getting lost, I made my way to the Pantheon; the very building that inspired my love of classical architecture. The simple yet ingenious design of the dome revolutionized architecture. Something so old yet so modern. Amazing.

Day One

Day one wasn't a very active day. Everyone was tired from the flight and we were all fighting jet lag, so everyone did their own thing. After getting settled into my room (302), I and some of my class mates just walked the streets of Rome. We got lost a few times, but what better way to see Rome. Everywhere I turned there was some grandiose building or monument; it was amazing. The Roman scenery was just what I needed to make the eight hour flight worth it...that and the thirteen and a half hours of sleep I got that night.

So...what's real?

For our second PBL (as seen below this post) we had to create an exhibit (I think) for the Carthaginian Scrolls (which don't exist) for the Museum of Religious Antiquities in Bangkok (which , like the scrolls, doesn't exist either). OK... At the beginning, the group was, needless to say, a little overwhelmed and confused. We then decided our main goal was to draw parallels between Ancient Rome and America, from its history to, unfortunately, its fall. What started out as a confusing project quickly became a little clearer. Using our C-map (as shown above), we decided to make a documentary, one similar to the History Channel or National Geographic. The group members all portrayed experts and professors for interviews that we incorporated into our documentary. One group member put everything together and let me tell you. All I could say was wow! This was a great example where the whole was greater than the sum of the parts. We had all seen our interviews and various pictures we collected for the documentary, but the finished product amazed us all.

The Second PBL

PBL- By Ming Ho Dong, Thanh Van Nguyen, Soorahami Nastioupourri

The Museum of Religious Antiquities in Bangkok would like to exhibit the Carthaginian Scrolls and the museum is looking for teams of skilled communicators knowledgeable in History, Religion, Architecture and Engineering, to create the exhibit.

The scrolls were discovered eleven years ago in the Catacombs of Rome, by three Argentinean archeologists. It was believed that the two well-preserved, but hitherto unknown, scrolls date from the early days of the Catholic Church. The scrolls were carbon-dated and it appeared they were written about 380 AD, just after Rome was sacked by the Vandals. The Roman Empire collapsed shortly thereafter.

The scrolls discuss in detail the many excesses of the Romans, concluding that their communal bathing habits and centrally-heated homes led to a moral laxness that the church needed to eradicate. The scrolls lay out a plan to eliminate all vestiges of Roman engineering and ingenuity from areas under its control.

From the historical record, we know that after the Fall of the Roman Empire, which many modern historians do attribute to a moral laxness and softening of will, Europe was plunged into a millennium-long dark age. The civilized world’s focus shifted to the Arab world where the arts and sciences flourished.

Many archeologists and historians believe that these scrolls are forgeries. They claim that they were created less than 15 years ago, to “show” that the Fall of the American Empire, and the movement of science and the arts to Asia, was due in large part to the US government becoming a Theocracy in 2015, banning research in biology, medicine and cosmology.

The awesome game board for the first PBL. She did a great job with it.

Reflection on the Ancient Romans

During the duration of this class, I am learning a lot about the Ancient Romans. I always knew they were very advanced, but after researching infromation about them, it is quite clear that they lived and operated not that differently from what we do and what we have today. The Ancient Romans advanced knowledge of sanitation and engineering are astounding!

Are the Ancient Romans all that different from Modern Americans?

Reflection On the First PBL

For the first problem based learning objective, our group had to create a resource to interest school age children in the history, art, culture, and architecture/construction of the Roman Forum. We started out with many, many ideas not only about how to deliver the information in an interesting way, but also what kind of information to use. The concept map (C-map) we made really helped organize our thoughts and ideas. I have never been one for C-maps, deeming them a waste of time. However, it was a very effective way of recording and clarifying everyone's great ideas. The group was great to work with, and in the end, our final product was outstanding.

Each group member had an unique character to bring to the project. In combination, our unique talents and skill created a great product and presentation!