Ideas For Everyone: The Virtues of a Liberal Education. Roosevelt Montás

Ideas For Everyone: The Virtues of a Liberal Education. Roosevelt Montás

What is the point of a good education? Do we need it to learn a narrow set of skills ro help us get ahead in the workplace, or should knowledge and learning to be used over a lifetime to acquire wisdom that enables us to think more deeply about our place in the world?

This question has profound resonance at a time of angry divides over American politics and moral confusion at elite American universities. The President of Harvard, Claudine Gay, resigned after months of campus unrest and controversy. In December, Gay and two other university presidents faced widespread criticism for their testimony at Congressional hearings about antisemitism on their campuses.

In this episode, we hear from an university educator who makes the case for liberal education that gives students the tools needed to have a deeper sense of purpose. Roosevelt Montás is the author of "Rescuing Socrates: How The Great Books Changed My Life And Why They Matter For a New Generation".


He believes that the ideas and writings of Plato, Socrates, Shakespeare, Ghandi and many others aren't just for a few privileged students. They're for everybody, and that encountering these thinkers as a poor immigrant teenager changed his life.


Montás is senior lecturer in American Studies and English at Columbia University, and director of the Center for American Studies Freedom and Citizenship Program, which introduces low-income high school students to primary texts in moral and political thought, as well as seminars in American Studies including “Freedom and Citizenship in the United States.” From 2008 to 2018, he was director of Columbia’s Center for the Core Curriculum.


"There is a prevailing cultural attitude that liberal education— the study of literature and philosophy — is appropriate only to the elite," Roosevelt tells us. "That is a really pernicious idea." He argues that the students who benefit the most from the foundational wisdom in the "great books" come from poor and marginalized backgrounds.

Recommendation: Richard watched and greatly enjoyed the Anglo-Japanese Netflix TV series, "Giri / Haji", — duty/shame in Japanese— a thriller about a Tokyo detective scouring the London underworld to find his allegedly deceased brother. The series was filmed in Tokyo and London.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Avsnitt(437)

#21 Climate Shock: The Global Warming Threat, How Do We Fix It?

#21 Climate Shock: The Global Warming Threat, How Do We Fix It?

If you had a 10% of facing a flood or getting into a fatal car accident, you'd make sure you bought first-rate insurance coverage. That's what our guest Gernot Wagner says we should do about climate change. Science tells us that if we do nothing, there is the risk of a global catastrophe. We hear the argument for climate insurance. Gernot is the co-author of "Climate Shock - The Economic Consequences of a Hotter Planet," and lead senior scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund.Even if climate skeptics are right and the risk of global warming is small, that does not eliminate the need to plan for an extreme emergency. Gernot Wagner makes the case for pricing carbon as a way of boosting the incentives for energy efficiency. "Unless we act, we will experience major disruptions. We already are experiencing them," says Gernot. Our interview also looks the revolution in solar energy and ocean damage caused by rising levels of carbon dioxide.Ready to take action? https://www.edf.org/action Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

21 Okt 201527min

#20 Insurance Errors: Are You Covered For A Disaster? How Do We Fix It

#20 Insurance Errors: Are You Covered For A Disaster? How Do We Fix It

Many of us make potentially disastrous mistakes with insurance. Either we don't have nearly enough coverage or pay through the nose for duplicate options that we don't need. Insurance expert Laura Adams has easy-to-follow solutions and smart buying tips to save you money. The author of several personal finance books, Laura hosts the popular "Money Girl" podcast. She is Senior Insurance Analyst for InsuranceQuotes.com. To find out more: http://lauradadams.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

14 Okt 201529min

#19 Lenore Skenazy(Rerun): Free Range Kids

#19 Lenore Skenazy(Rerun): Free Range Kids

Do helicopter parents need to come in for a landing? Lenore Skenazy, host of the cable TV show, "World's Worst Mom", says yes. The founder of the parenting movement Free Range Kids is Jim and Richard's expert guest. Skenazy argues society fills parents with fear about what might happen to their children. www.freerangekids.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6 Okt 201528min

#18 Stock Market Panic and Investor Mistakes: How Do We Fix It?

#18 Stock Market Panic and Investor Mistakes: How Do We Fix It?

With recent worries about the global economy and stock market panic, investment expert Susan Schmidt, Senior Portfolio Manager at Westwood Holdings Group, has a simple message: keep calm. 55% of Americans have money in the market. Most are long term savers. She says the basic rules of investing are surprisingly simple. Building wealth means savers should resist emotion and act as investors, not traders, ignoring the day-to-day changes in the market. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

30 Sep 201529min

#17 We're Sending The Wrong Message To Kids About Jobs: How Do We Fix It?

#17 We're Sending The Wrong Message To Kids About Jobs: How Do We Fix It?

TV host, writer, author and producer Mike Rowe says America needs to change its understanding about work and face up to the widening skills gap. Many manufacturers can't fill find workers to do well-paid skilled technical and labor one jobs. Mike argues that stereotypes about blue-collar work must change. He's launched the mikeroweWORKS foundation to raise awareness and help young workers. The third season of his popular CNN show, "Somebody's Gotta Do It," starts September 27th. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

23 Sep 201525min

#16 Campus Free Speech Is Under Threat: How Do We Fix It?

#16 Campus Free Speech Is Under Threat: How Do We Fix It?

We look at threats to free speech on college campuses with Greg Lukianoff, a constitutional lawyer and CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). Greg says there's been an alarming rise in trigger warnings and hypersensitivity, with a growing number of students demanding protection from words, ideas and emotions that they don't like. Is this a disaster in the making for education and for students themselves? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

16 Sep 201526min

#15 The Hysteria Over Sex Offenders: How Do We Fix It?

#15 The Hysteria Over Sex Offenders: How Do We Fix It?

"Protecting Our Kids?: How Sex Offender Laws Are Failing Us" is the provocative title of the new book by sociology professor Emily Horowitz. She argues that America is in the grip of panic, saying that sex offender laws enacted over the past twenty years have failed to protect children and promote vigilante justice against alleged offenders. Professor Horowitz is chair of sociology and criminal justice at St. Francis College in Brooklyn, New York. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9 Sep 201525min

#14 The Housing Market Is Still Broken: How Do We Fix It?

#14 The Housing Market Is Still Broken: How Do We Fix It?

Fear and panic gripped the stock market this week with worries that China's problems could cause a global recession. But is Wall Street out of step with Main Street? Time for a reality check with economist and housing market expert Nela Richardson, Chief Economist at Redfin, the real estate brokerage firm. Nela gives us the low down on the future of the housing market and the U.S. economy, plus suggestions on how we can build a better future. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

26 Aug 201528min

Populärt inom Politik & nyheter

svenska-fall
p3-krim
rss-viva-fotboll
rss-krimstad
flashback-forever
fordomspodden
aftonbladet-daily
rss-sanning-konsekvens
rss-vad-fan-hande
olyckan-inifran
dagens-eko
rss-frandfors-horna
svd-dokumentara-berattelser-2
motiv
rss-krimreportrarna
krimmagasinet
svd-nyhetsartiklar
blenda-2
spotlight
spar