Roosevelt Montás is Senior Lecturer in American Studies and English at Columbia University. Born in the Dominican Republic, he moved to New York as a teenager. In 2000, he received the Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching by a Graduate Student. As well as the many classes that he teaches at Columbia, he is director of the Center for American Studies’ Freedom and Citizenship Program, which brings low-income high school students to the Columbia campus to study political theory and then helps them prepare successful applications to college. His book, Rescuing Socrates:How the Great Books Changed My Life and Why They Matter for a New Generation details the experiences of Montás as a student and teacher, telling the story of how the Great Books transformed his life and why they have the power to speak to people of all backgrounds.
