Roosevelt Montás

A Dominican-born academic tells the story of how the Great Books transformed his life—and why they have the power to speak to people of all backgrounds. What is the value of a liberal education? Traditionally characterised by a rigorous engagement with the classics of Western thought and literature, this approach to education is all but extinct in American universities, replaced...

What is the value of a liberal education? Traditionally characterised by a rigorous engagement with the classics of Western thought and literature, this approach to education is all but extinct in American universities, replaced by flexible distribution requirements and ever-narrower academic specialisation. Many academics attack the very idea of a Western canon as chauvinistic, while the general public increasingly doubts...