Tuesday 13th of May, 4.00pm, Christ Church Research Centre.
Join us for a discussion of the political philosophy of Hannah Arendt, with two foremost scholars of Arendt’s life and work: Professor Thomas Meyer and Professor Lyndsey Stonebridge.
Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) is among the most renowned thinkers of the twentieth century. Arendt’s major works— The Origins of Totalitarianism, The Human Condition, Eichmann in Jerusalem, On Revolution, and The Life of the Mind— addressed the meaning of being human and political freedom in the midst of diminishing space for public action and independent thought in ‘modern’ times. Arendt was also a prolific essayist, writing in both English and German on topics as varied as the writings of Franz Kafka, culture and tradition, statelessness, civil disobedience, and the poetry of W. H. Auden. Drawing on Meyer and Stonebridge’s recent biographies of Arendt, the conversation will address the persistent themes of Arendt’s life and writings.
Students and academics from all disciplines are welcome to attend.
The Research Centre is located in Christ Church Meadows, in the thatched building next to the Visitor Centre. The event will be followed by a drinks reception.
Speakers:
Professor Thomas Meyer is a Professor (Adjunct) in Philosophy at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. His intellectual biography of Arendt, ‘Hannah Arendt: Die Biografie’ (2023) draws on new archival material to trace the tumultuous events of Arendt’s life, from her upbringing in Germany, to the years of exile in Paris (1933-1941), and postwar life in New York. As a specialist in twentieth-century intellectual history and ancient Greek political philosophy, Meyer sheds new light on the contemporary controversy and philosophical legacy of Arendt’s thought.
Professor Lyndsey Stonebridge (FBA) is the Interdisciplinary Chair of Humanities and Human Rights at the University of Birmingham. Her book, ‘We are Free to Change the World: Hannah Arendt’s Lessons in Love and Disobedience’ (2024), provides an illuminating portrayal of Arendt’s life and revolutionary thought. Working at the intersection between literature, political theory, and history, Stonebridge’s research draws together the importance of Arendt’s writings on freedom, thinking, terror, love and exile, for the turbulent world of present-day politics.
