What
To identify a position for the Roman Empire within the new world history, beyond west and east.
Why
Europe was at the centre of the world and its history, but not anymore. Europe and its past has been increasingly side-lined. We now urgently need to move beyond anti-Eurocentrism and find a place for the European past in the new global world history. For no other area is this more important than Roman history. It provides a bridge between the new world history and the European past and may help us understand the character of the world order after European hegemony.
How
To write a monograph confronting the Roman imperial experience with the key themes of the new world history.