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
Some of Avant’s mantras are overstated, but her book is magnanimous, inspiring, and relentlessly optimistic.
Memories and life lessons inspired by the author’s mother, who was murdered in 2021.
“Neither my mother nor I knew that her last text to me would be the words ‘Think you’ll be happy,’ ” Avant writes, "but it is fitting that she left me with a mantra for resiliency.” The author, a filmmaker and former U.S. Ambassador to the Bahamas, begins her first book on the night she learned her mother, Jacqueline Avant, had been fatally shot during a home invasion. “One of my first thoughts,” she writes, “was, ‘Oh God, please don’t let me hate this man. Give me the strength not to hate him.’ ” Daughter of Clarence Avant, known as the “Black Godfather” due to his work as a pioneering music executive, the author describes growing up “in a house that had a revolving door of famous people,” from Ella Fitzgerald to Muhammad Ali. “I don’t take for granted anything I have achieved in my life as a Black American woman,” writes Avant. “And I recognize my unique upbringing…..I was taught to honor our past and pay forward our fruits.” The book, which is occasionally repetitive, includes tributes to her mother from figures like Oprah Winfrey and Bill Clinton, but the narrative core is the author’s direct, faith-based, unwaveringly positive messages to readers—e.g., “I don’t want to carry the sadness and anger I have toward the man who did this to my mother…so I’m worshiping God amid the worst storm imaginable”; "Success and feeling good are contagious. I’m all about positive contagious vibrations!” Avant frequently quotes Bible verses, and the bulk of the text reflects the spirit of her daily prayer “that everything is in divine order.” Imploring readers to practice proactive behavior, she writes, “We have to always find the blessing, to be the blessing.”
Some of Avant’s mantras are overstated, but her book is magnanimous, inspiring, and relentlessly optimistic.Pub Date: Oct. 17, 2023
ISBN: 9780063304413
Page Count: 288
Publisher: HarperOne
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
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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