Obsessions of The Roman Empire

By Jason Bergeron Last updated Sep 28, 2023

Pictured Is the Roman Colosseum, a true landmark of Rome and a landmark that has lasted thousands of years! PHOTO CREDIT: QUINN MEYER ’25

Recently, in my research methods class, a student posed a question: “Do men think more about the Roman Empire than women?” This question has captivated many online, where the trend has taken off on social media platforms such as TikTok. Being a more respectable member of society, I myself do not use TikTok — I just watch TikTok on Instagram Reels — so hearing this question in the lab was my first learning of it.

Identifying as a male, I can safely speak for every man in existence by saying we do think more about the Roman Empire than women. But like any human, I am instinctively driven by the pursuit of knowledge and understanding why something is. So, why do men — such as me — think more about the Roman Empire? Is it because of the patriarchy? Is it because of our preconceived gender roles? Is it because boys go to school and girls go to Jupiter? Quite frankly, I do not know.

Further thought on this subject made me reflect upon my own Roman Empire. Is there something that I myself think about significantly more than others? Something that lives rent-free in my mind?

After some deep interpersonal reflection, I was able to identify what my “Roman Empire” is: fishing analogies. Though I do not really fish — unlike Ben Cabot ’26— I sure am invested in using fishing as a vessel to explain something to someone on a level they can understand.

I asked some SLU students and professors about their own Roman Empires.

Chi Omega Sister Alison McCormick ’25, responded, “You know what I think about: soup cooking videos.”

Caroline Finkbeiner ’25 said, “I already told you it’s Greek Mythology.”

Emma “Lil Nar Nar” O’Neil ’25 “The ending scene of “Pride and Prejudice.””

Jenny Krueger ’25 “’Mama Mia’ and ABBA in general.”

Owen Kotula ’26 “Bike specs.”

Will Lewison ’26 “The ending to ‘Good Will Hunting.’”

Reid Wilson ’26: “I think a lot about zombie apocalypses and how to survive if one broke out at any moment.”

Irene Damianii ’25 “ASMR eating videos and satisfying Insta Reels.”

Connor St. Peter ’24 “Easy, Bunger Bugsnax.”

Haley Morland ’25: “Like, like, like, I think about universes where I am not alive and the chances that everything happened and the chances my parents met and like how it all happens and yeah.”

Sarah Johnson ’82 Associate Professor in the Sciences, Adam E. Fox said “I do think about contextually relevant passages from books pretty often.”

All of these Roman Empires are different but, in essence, the same. We all have our niche. The little thing that makes us stand out. It is like when you’re fishing in the ocean and catch a haddock and then go to a lake and catch a bass. They are both two very different fish, but they are both fish. My Roman Empire is fishing analogies. Others are zombie apocalypses.

I think the beauty of having your own Roman Empire is that it is something for just yourself. It sits in your head dormant, and occasionally, it activates, and you think about it from time to time. Nobody has to know what it is. Maybe you don’t even know what it is until you think about it. It is a lot like when you’ve been fishing for some time with no bites, and you forget what you’re doing on the water. Then, out of nowhere, BOOM. A hit. Suddenly, you remember that you are fishing. That is life.