The Luxury of Freedom: Elitism and the Liberal Arts

Professor Roosevelt Montás

Friday, October 19, 2018 at 3:30 p.m.

From its inception, the project of liberal arts education has been associated with social privilege. What is the nature of that association and what are its implications for liberal education today? After discussing the goals of liberal arts education, Dr. Montás will argue that a liberal arts education, including teaching the core texts of Western Civilization,  need not be elitist. He will offer some ideas of how to expand the liberal arts idea beyond elite institutions, including pedagogical approaches to teaching core classical texts in a variety of settings.

Professor Montás is Director of the Center for the Core Curriculum at Columbia College. He holds an A.B., Columbia College (1995), and an M.A. (1996) and Ph.D. (2004) in English, Columbia University. Montás specializes in Antebellum American literature and culture, with a particular interest in American citizenship.

Learn more about Prof. Montás here