FAR EASTERN UNIVERSITY

Sampaloc, Manila

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Course/Schedule __________________________________ Date _____________________________

1. Discuss Hellenism. How was it different from earlier conquest? (10 pts)

Hellenism is the spread of ancient Greek culture, religion and, to a lesser

extent, language, over foreign civilization conquered by Greeks or brought into
their sphere of influence, particularly during the Hellenistic period following the
campaigns of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BCE. It is a much different
approach of conquering from dominant military force alone slaving the people of a
colony, Hellenism brought cultural enrichment from conquered lands making the
conquered identify themselves as Greeks.

2. In the age of globalization, not only products can freely enter a country but also
culture. Discuss the positive and negative effects of our exposure to foreign
cultures. (20 pts)

Exposure to foreign cultures diversifies many variables like culture, language,

knowledge etc. Advantage of this happening is we learn so much from other cultures
and by applying that to ours makes our culture more dynamic, adapting their ways
made us more effective in aspects in running our country. But exposure to other
cultures also has it downsides, it made us forget who we really are, it made us more
inclined to consume other culture’s products than our own. In my opinion, the positive
effects do not offset the negative effects of exposure to foreign cultures, if you will
observe the East Asian countries (e.g., Japan) they have also been conquered by
foreign forces (America) but they stayed true to their roots and now they are one of the
most successful countries post-world war 2, they adapted to the world but they remain
solid on their heritage. The problem with Filipinos is that they relied on foreign entities
too much and that’s what made us who we are today, being independent only a
century ago and have been a colony for 400 years probably fanned the flames on that
one.

3. Discuss the Golden Age of Rome and differentiate it from Philippine politics. (10
pts.)
During the Golden Age of Rome, the economy, arts, architecture and even
commerce, flourished. The empire grew in size and power, becoming one of the
largest empires at the time. The Roman legal system expanded, creating a uniform
system of law. Justice was more equal throughout the empire. Civil service jobs were
also created, as well as a uniform money system. Roads were improved and public
works were produced. This overall improved the prosperity and stability of the empire
for 200 years. There was also an increased emphasis on family. The Philippines’
current political landscape is the opposite, the rule of law is not respected, economy is
stagnating, dynasties ruling different provinces effectively controlling its people there.
The current Philippine politics have no harmony and no vision of the future, just
families of ruling classes wanting to stay in power and the elites wanting to get even
richer. Unlike the Romans in time of Pax Romana, after the death of Julius Caesar
they made reforms and on their mind is the people of Rome, if the politicians of today
have even little of that mentality it might be a spark of great change but for now we can
only hope.