On April 21, 2023,invited by Professor Hou Jianxin, Dean of IEC, Professor Yan Shaoxiang from Capital Normal University lectured on "Roman Imperialism: From Monson to Harris" in IEC. More than 100 students and faculty members of IEC and the School of History and Culture presented.

Professor Yan Shaoxiang is a distinguished professor of Changjiang Scholars of the Ministry of Education, honorary president of the Chinese Research Association of World Ancient and Medieval History, and a representative scholar of classical studies in China.

Yan Shaoxiang first briefly reviewed the history of ancient Roman expansionand analyzed the concept of "imperialism". He then examined and explained the history of academic research on the development of Roman imperialism.

Professor Yan pointed out that classical writers basically took the position of Rome and sought the legitimacy of Roman military expansion on various grounds. In the 19th century, influenced by nationalist ideology, Theodor Mommsen interpreted Roman expansion as an act of national unity and defensive imperialism, which became the paradigm that dominated the interpretation of Roman imperialism for a long time. Nevertheless, new challenging views constantly emerged in the reflection of Mommsen’s paradigm. By William Harris, the paradigm had undergone a fundamental reversal. Harris constructed the internal mechanism of Roman expansion in a relatively comprehensive way, revealing the systematic and brutal nature of Roman imperialism. New paradigm has sparked intense scholarly debate, which constitutes the basic background for current discussion on Roman imperialism.