A vigorous argument in favor of reading and discussing the canon in order to better our minds and souls.
A Dominican-born academic defends the humanities in a time of retreat.
A senior lecturer at the Center for American Studies at Columbia, Montás writes of coming to the U.S. as a teenager with only a limited command of English and, by dint of hard work and exhaustive reading, attaining the kind of liberal arts education that harkens to ancient Athens. The word liberal is enough to set some critics off, while the liberal arts are often conceived in modern universities as a block of requirements that diverge from the student’s primary major instead of being foundational. Columbia is unusual among universities in offering a “core” that involves reading the Western canon (it has lately added a parallel core for works of world literature other than the West’s). Montás reviews several texts that are especially central, for various reasons, beginning with Saint Augustine’s Confessions as a text that recounts the acquisition of values and beliefs through the act of reading itself. Despite that Western/non-Western division, the author also includes Gandhi’s Autobiography for much the same reasons. Montás is enthusiastic about Plato and Socrates, less so about Aristotle: “Reading Aristotle can feel like chewing on cardboard. Don’t expect enchantment.” The author also recounts teaching underprivileged students and watching them “undergo a kind of inner awakening,” taking the words of Socrates “seriously and personally.” In the end, writes Montás, the core and its texts are meant to guide readers into thinking about what has been translated as virtue but that really means excellence . What does excellence constitute, and how do we attain it? Montás delivers a spirited defense that may seem old-fashioned in the current milieu of deconstruction and arid theory of the academy but that he insists can deliver a means of combatting social inequality by grounding students in a common intellectual tradition.
A vigorous argument in favor of reading and discussing the canon in order to better our minds and souls.Pub Date: Nov. 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-691-20039-2
Page Count: 248
Publisher: Princeton Univ.
Review Posted Online: Nov. 16, 2021
An incisive, urgently relevant analysis of—and call to action on—America’s foundational ideal.
An examination of how the U.S. can revitalize its commitment to freedom.
In this ambitious study, Snyder, author of On Tyranny, The Road to Unfreedom, and other books, explores how American freedom might be reconceived not simply in negative terms—as freedom from coercion, especially by the state—but positive ones: the freedom to develop our human potential within sustaining communal structures. The author blends extensive personal reflections on his own evolving understanding of liberty with definitions of the concept by a range of philosophers, historians, politicians, and social activists. Americans, he explains, often wrongly assume that freedom simply means the removal of some barrier: “An individual is free, we think, when the government is out of the way. Negative freedom is our common sense.” In his careful and impassioned description of the profound implications of this conceptual limitation, Snyder provides a compelling account of the circumstances necessary for the realization of positive freedom, along with a set of detailed recommendations for specific sociopolitical reforms and policy initiatives. “We have to see freedom as positive, as beginning from virtues, as shared among people, and as built into institutions,” he writes. The author argues that it’s absurd to think of government as the enemy of freedom; instead, we ought to reimagine how a strong government might focus on creating the appropriate conditions for human flourishing and genuine liberty. Another essential and overlooked element of freedom is the fostering of a culture of solidarity, in which an awareness of and concern for the disadvantaged becomes a guiding virtue. Particularly striking and persuasive are the sections devoted to eviscerating the false promises of libertarianism, exposing the brutal injustices of the nation’s penitentiaries, and documenting the wide-ranging pathologies that flow from a tax system favoring the ultrawealthy.
An incisive, urgently relevant analysis of—and call to action on—America’s foundational ideal.Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2024
ISBN: 9780593728727
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: June 25, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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