Honors Bachelor of Arts
Document Type
Capstone/Thesis
Faculty Advisor
Thesis Director: Dr. Shannon Byrne
Date
2025-5
Abstract
Students often question the value of going to school. They certainly can mindlessly sit through courses for a passing grade and forget the material right after the test, but what value is that learning actually providing for them? The most apt answer one could give to this is that education molds us into model citizens, ones who can utilize math, language, logic, and other foundational ideas as building blocks to operate and understand the world through. While the term “basic education” implies vastly different curricula across different cultures and time periods, one common thread between any basic education is the transformation of an underskilled individual into a functioning member of that society, not just in the ability to converse and think rationally with one’s peers, but to understand the tradition and cultural norms of that society as well. I argue that throughout Rome’s differing political structures, its evolving educational customs supplemented the shifting needs of the state by cementing the values of Roman morality in the nation’s elite. Morality serves an important purpose here to direct the goals of maturing statesmen toward selfless service for the state and divert antisocial political tendencies.
Recommended Citation
Sherman, Luke D., "Ethical Pedagogy and Roman Political Identity" (2025). Honors Bachelor of Arts. 57.
https://www.exhibit.xavier.edu/hab/57
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Included in
Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons, Ancient Philosophy Commons, Classical Archaeology and Art History Commons, Classical Literature and Philology Commons, Other Classics Commons
