Join the Expansion

Share your research, advance the discipline.

  • The intellectual growth forum for high school students everywhere

  • The Dynamics of Proxy War Patronage: Exploring the Confluence of Economics and Politics

    / War Studies

    Charles Xue ’25

    The Albany Academies

    New York, USA

  • The Analytic-Continental Split: A Comparative Study of Language Use in Philosophical Works

    / Philosophy

    Lang Ming ’26

    Northfield Mount Hermon School

    Massachusetts, USA

  • Environmental Injustice and Uranium Pollution on the Wind River Indian Reservation

    / Interdisciplinary: Environmental Studies, US History

    Georgiana Mueller ’26

    Jackson Hole High School

    Wyoming, USA

  • Shadow Diplomacy: How the US Drove Britain to Decolonize Malaysia, 1941-1963

    / Interdisciplinary: US History, International Relations

    Nathan Hu ’25

    The Lawrenceville School

    New Jersey, USA

  • Community, Family, Nation: Confucian Exacerbation of Homophobia in Chinese Queer Literature

    / Interdisciplinary: Gender Studies, Literature, Philosophy

    Xiaoyao Lu ’25

    United World College of South East Asia

    Singapore

  • The Persistence of Foucauldian Discipline in Contemporary Society

    / Interdisciplinary: Sociology, Philosophy

    Roy Wei ’26

    YK Pao School

    Shanghai, China

  • Democracy in Shambles: The Effect of Political Elitism on the Decline of Indian Secularism

    / Interdisciplinary: World History, Politics

    Arjun Shah ’25

    Phillips Academy Andover

    Massachusetts, USA

  • Military Brutality on the Frontiers: A Device in Transforming Rome from Republic to Empire

    / Greco-Roman History

    Skye Hsu ’25

    San Francisco University High School

    California, USA

  • The Decline of Ecclesiastical Authority in the Italian Healthcare System

    / Interdisciplinary: European History, Public Policy

    Giulia Scolari ’25

    The American School in London

    London, UK

  • Memorialized Identity: An Analysis of Collective Memory in the Weimar Republic

    / European History

    Aumrita Savdharia ’25

    Fairmont Preparatory Academy

    California, USA

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  • Georgiana Mueller

    My chemistry teacher once showcased a remarkable periodic table to our class. It displayed the abbreviations of all elements, akin to a standard table, but also included tiny samples of...

    Georgiana Mueller

    My chemistry teacher once showcased a remarkable periodic table to our class. It displayed the abbreviations of all elements, akin to a standard table, but also included tiny samples of...

  • Arjun Shah

    I first discovered my passion for political theory during freshman-year debate meetings. Marveled by older students’ esoteric references to Locke, Hobbes, and Plato, I spent my summers consumed in Two...

    Arjun Shah

    I first discovered my passion for political theory during freshman-year debate meetings. Marveled by older students’ esoteric references to Locke, Hobbes, and Plato, I spent my summers consumed in Two...

  • Nathan Hu

    As a Canadian with Chinese-Indonesian heritage who lived in Vancouver and Hong Kong before studying at an American boarding high school, I’m deeply interested in the colonial histories of Canada,...

    Nathan Hu

    As a Canadian with Chinese-Indonesian heritage who lived in Vancouver and Hong Kong before studying at an American boarding high school, I’m deeply interested in the colonial histories of Canada,...

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Notable Essays

Selected from the 2023-2024 collection

  • The Global Environmental Impacts of World War I

    Interdisciplinary: Environmental Studies, World History

    Kevin Guo 
  • The Mind-Body Problem: A Critique of Type Identity Theory

    Philosophy

    Clarence Chen 
  • Mortality Moves Masses: Social Movements as Evolved Responses to Pandemics

    Interdisciplinary: Sociology, Psychology

    Gabriel Wolf Evers 
  • The Formation of Charismatic Authority: An Analysis of Julius Caesar and George Washington

    Politics

    Persephone Reeves 
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Featured Essay

Greco-Roman History

Military Brutality on the Frontiers: A Device in Transforming Rome from Republic to Empire

Skye Hsu ’25 | San Francisco University High School | California, USA

The Late Republic is renowned for its swift military expansion and a rise in political ambition and tension. It represented a new geographical frontier and the breakdown of the traditional representative democracy due to individuals wielding disproportionate power. The link between the military’s harshness during these expansions and the political motivations in Rome is anticipated to provide fresh perspectives on the ruthless careers of certain commanders and the prospects of translating primary sources. This study first focuses on the incentivization of military brutality for ambitious commanders through public triumphal celebrations, which rewarded successful and brutal campaigns with power and prestige. The study then explores how the link between frontier brutality and political ambition became further entrenched through the increasing reliance on private armies in civil wars, as their loyalty was built on the loot and free will they enjoyed during wars for expansion. Primary sources draw from ancient historians such as Livy and Plutarch who contextualize such brutality as well as the commanders who define it. Ultimately, the analysis of these sources emphasizes the interconnected nature between outward military brutality and internal affairs. It was this politically-driven military brutality that facilitated the transition of Rome from shared power to single-man rule, from Republic to Empire, the latter of which spread architecture, art, language, religion, and government systems across the Mediterranean. These aspects continue to influence our modern Western world.

  • Philosophy

    History: Greco-Roman, US, European, World

    Art History

    Literature, Literary Theory, Classics

    Public Policy

    Sociology: Political Sociology, Sociolinguistics

    Contents updated periodically.

  • Embark on a scholarly journey through our disciplinary collections, exploring a wide range of subjects in the humanities and social sciences.

  • Interdisciplinary I

    The study of politics, conflict, and governance that shape the world and the natural environment at national and international levels

    Politics, War Studies, International Relations, Environmental Studies

  • Interdisciplinary II

    The exploration of creative expressions and the policies and programs that shape cultural activities

    Cultural Policy, Film and Media Studies, Musicology

  • Interdisciplinary III

    The investigation of cultural practices, beliefs, and social structures that influence and are influenced by human societies

    American Studies, Gender Studies, Anthropology, Psychology

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