Sorry to not be with you guys today.
In class I'd like you to spend some time working with the collapse of the Roman Empire (Western; the Eastern half continues.) As said in class yesterday, you can generally group the causes into internal and external, and you all have the textbook's account of what happened in chapter 12.
Today, let's take a look at everyone's favorite first Google hit, wikipedia. You can search for "Decline of the Roman Empire," in Wikipanion (if you have that app) or you can just click the link to get you to the entry that deals with the topic. Wikipedia presents you with probably more information than you need, so you can skim through much of the entry. What I'd like you to do is look at the section entitled "Highlights" first to refresh your memory of what happened as the empire was collapsing.
Then focus in on Theories of a Fall, Decline, Transition and Continuity. The collective hive mind of wikipedia says there are four main groupings of thought on causation: Decay, Monocausal, Catastrophic collapse, and Transformation.
In groups, read the Highlights and then the selection assigned to you (below). Discuss it in your group and come to consensus about what the theory is. On your blog for homework, post whether or not you agree with the cause as it is described in Wikipedia, and offer evidence that supports or refutes the theory.
The groups:
Last names B-K (inclusive) take Decay.
Last names L-Patel, J (Inclusive) take Monocausal
Last names Patel, T-R (inclusive) take Catastrophic collapse
Last names S-T take Transformation
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