Roosevelt Montás: From Rescuing Socrates to the Symposium Stage

Roosevelt Montás will be a keynote speaker at The National Symposium for Classical Education this year. The Symposium, made possible by the Great Hearts Institute, the leading conference of scholars and K-12 educators dedicated to enriching our understanding of classical education and building a world-class network of professionals from within the classical movement.

Montás is Senior Lecturer in American Studies and English at Columbia University.  He holds an A.B. (1995), an M.A. (1996), and a Ph.D. (2004) in English and Comparative Literature from Columbia University. He speaks and writes on the history, meaning, and future of liberal education and is author of Rescuing Socrates: How the Great Books Changed My Life and Why They Matter for a New Generation (Princeton University Press, 2021). In his book, the 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.

He wrote in the introduction of the book, “Liberal education has always been a hard sell. People fortunate enough to have had it often describe it as a life-altering experience, but those who haven’t had it don’t usually feel that their lives are less rich or less fulfilling for lacking it. With higher education increasingly seen in transactional terms – with students paying exorbitant amounts of money to gain a leg up in a fiercely competitive job environment–it is easy to see how liberal education might be regarded as a waste of time. Politicians, the general public, and even university leaders often dismiss it as impractical and pointless–an antiquated affectation of privilege. But liberal education has always had formidable defenders. From Plato and Aristotle, to Cicero and Marcus Aurelius, to Erasmus and Galileo, to Virginia Woolf and W.E.B.Du Bois, to contemporary torchbearers like Andrew Delbanco, Martha Nussbaum, and Fared Zakaria, eminent thinkers have insisted on the value and indispensability of liberal education.”

Organizers count it a great privilege to have such a revered speaker and author join the Symposium this year. “Teachers from Great Hearts and the wider classical education movement have read Roosevelt Montas’ book Rescuing Socrates, a vibrant defense of the Great Books presented through a warm biographical narrative. We are honored to have Dr. Montas share his story at this year’s Symposium,” said Jake Tawney, Chief Academic Officer for Great Hearts Academies.

Montás immigrated from the Dominican Republic to Queens, New York, when he was twelve and encountered the Western classics as an undergraduate in Columbia University’s renowned Core Curriculum, one of America’s last remaining Great Books programs. The experience changed his life and determined his career—he went on to serve as director of Columbia’s Center for the Core Curriculum and started a Great Books program for low-income high school students who aspire to be the first in their families to attend college.

Hear from Roosevelt Montás and other impactful speakers at the 2024 Symposium will be held on March 20-22 at the Phoenix Convention Center. Registration is NOW LIVE!

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This year’s Symposium will focus on renewing the Great Conversation concerning great works and perennial ideas. This year we will underscore the importance of teaching and modeling the conversations that lead to insight–among colleagues, between teachers and students, with families, and across our communities. At a time when our society most needs genuine dialogue, classical schools provide a sanctuary of genuine civility. Join us to discover how classical education embodies the good conversations, providing both the means and the model for a more civil society.

Do you have a story or know of a story that you would like to see featured at Great Hearts?  Please contact jason.moore@greathearts.org.