Opinion: Memphis, are you still thinking about the Roman Empire (and Yellow Fever)?

By  and , Guest Columnist Updated: February 28, 2026 7:27 PM CT | Published: February 18, 2026 12:31 PM CT
Amanda Gaggioli
Guest Columnist

Amanda Gaggioli

Amanda Gaggioli is a professor at the University of Memphis specializing in ancient and premodern history.

Benjamin Graham
Guest Columnist

Benjamin Graham

Benjamin Graham is a professor at the University of Memphis specializing in ancient and premodern history.

“Historian Kyle Harper is coming to the University of Memphis to ask a chilling question: are we, like the Romans, on the cusp of societal collapse — or even mass extinction?”

Topics

Guest Columns University of Memphis Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1878

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