Classics Professor Karl Galinsky joyfully escorts an auditorium of University of Texas undergraduates through the 12 centuries of Roman civilization, sweeping across political history, art, literature, architecture, and religion. He invites students to examine "the abiding issues that have made Roman civilization such a fascinating subject for imitation, loathing, and anything in between for subsequent generations, right up to our own times."

"The Romans have always fascinated me," says Galinsky. "To my mind, one of the big similarities between the U.S. and ancient Rome is that they're very pragmatic people. They're not hung up on ideology. They want to see what works."

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