Over the course of just a generation in the fifth century AD, the western Roman empire fragmented into multiple small kingdoms, while the Eastern empire, centered on the great city of Constantinople, not only survived but prospered. What accounts for Eastern strength and Western weakness? Why were politics in the West so much more divisive and destructive than in the East? What allowed western systemic collapse to happen so fast? The answer to those questions may surprise you and will certainly give you something to think about in our current, rapidly fragmenting era.

Michael Kulikowski, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of History and Classics, will present as part of the College of the Liberal Arts’ Moments of Change: Fragmentation theme. Fragmentation is the latest theme in the college’s year-long Moments of Change series, which explores pivotal ideas and moments that shape society.