Speaker Profile
Roosevelt Mont谩s is Senior Lecturer in American Studies and English at Columbia University. He emigrated from the Dominican Republic to Queens, New York, when he was twelve and encountered the Western classics as an undergraduate in Columbia University鈥檚 renowned Core Curriculum, one of America鈥檚 last remaining Great Books programs. The experience changed his life and determined his career鈥攈e went on to earn a PhD in English and comparative literature, serve as director of Columbia鈥檚 Center for the Core Curriculum for ten years, and start a Great Books program for low-income high school students who aspire to be the first in their families to attend college.
: How the Great Books Changed My Life and Why They Matter for a New Generation details the experiences of Mont谩s as a student and teacher, telling the story of how the Great Books transformed his life and why they have the power to speak to people of all backgrounds (watch his introduction to the book ).
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