Hannah Arendt

Catalog description

In this course we will read and learn about the ideas and influence of Hannah Arendt, one of the most important thinkers and public intellectuals of the twentieth century. We will learn about her critical thinking on totalitarianism, violence, freedom, power, and what she calls “the life of the mind” in our shared human condition. We will look closely at her writings on authoritarianism and totalitarianism, the Holocaust, state power, freedom and the role of the individual in a modern society and polity and community. We will look at Arendt’s Jewish writings. We will read her essay on violence. We will see Arendt as a virtuoso of several genres, from letters and op-eds to extended essays, to philosophical argument, reportage, history, even poetry and the course syllabus. At the end of our course I hope we can answer the question: why read Hannah Arendt now? Satisfies German Studies major and minor requirement. Satisfies PPE major requirement. Satisfies Justice, Equality and Community requirement.