March 11, 2019 – March 26, 2019 Vienna Workshop:
on Hannah Arendt’s political thinking
Workshop with Ruth Kager and the students of the Art Studio for Post-conceptual Art Practices (PCAP) and the students in general of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, at AkBild, Vienna.
Hannah Arendt’s political thought centers around a political space that draws on common action. Starting from this insight, each session of the workshop is dedicated to one of Arendt’s basic notions: the public realm, the societal and the private, action, power and judging. Building on these notions, the workshop investigates the constraints and potentialities of politics as thought by Arendt.
The contents are elaborated interactively, based on the sources below. The following questions will guide, amongst others, plenary discussions and group activities.
11/3/2019 // INTRODUCTION // THE PUBLIC REALM
What is the public realm?
Sources:
Arendt, Hannah (1973) [1958], The Human Condition (Chicago: University of Chicago Press), 50-57.
Arendt, Hannah (2010) [1960], Vita activa oder Vom tätigen Leben (München: Piper), 62-73.
12/3/2019 // THE SOCIETAL AND THE PRIVATE
What are the relations between the social, the private and the public realm?
Sources:
Arendt, Hannah (1973) [1958], The Human Condition (Chicago: University of Chicago Press), 68-72.
Arendt, Hannah (2010) [1960], Vita activa oder Vom tätigen Leben (München: Piper), 81-89.
18/3/2019 // ACTION
What are the characteristics of action?
How is action connected to politics?
Sources:
Arendt, Hannah (1973) [1958], The Human Condition (Chicago: University of Chicago Press), 175-180.
Arendt, Hannah (2010) [1960], Vita activa oder Vom tätigen Leben (München: Piper), 213-222.
19/3/2019 // POWER
What is the difference between power and violence?
How is power connected to different forms of government?
Sources:
Arendt, Hannah (1973) [1958], The Human Condition (Chicago: University of Chicago Press), 199-206.
Arendt, Hannah (2010) [1960], Vita activa oder Vom tätigen Leben (München: Piper), 251-262.
26/3/2019 // THE DESTRUCTION OF POLITICAL POWER // JUDGING
How is political power destructed?
What is judging?
Sources:
Arendt, Hannah (1951), The Origins of Totalitarianism (New York: Harcourt Brace), 123-134.
Arendt, Hannah (2014) [1955], Elemente und Ursprünge totaler Herrschaft. Antisemitismus, Imperialismus, totale Herrschaft (München: Piper) 286-307.
Arendt, Hannah (1961), “The Crisis in Culture. Its Social and Its Political Significance”, in: ibid., Between Past and Future: Six Exercises in Political Thought (New York: Viking), 217-226.
Arendt, Hannah (2012) [1960], “Kultur und Politik”, in: dies., Zwischen Vergangenheit und Zukunft. Übungen im politischen Denken I, herausgegeben von Ursula Ludz (München: Piper), 296-302.
