Hannah Arendt

<p>Hannah Arendt's work offers a powerful critical engagement with the cultural and philosophical crises of mid-twentieth-century Europe. Her idea of the banality of evil, made famous after her report on the trial of the Nazi war criminal, Adolf Eichmann, remains controversial to this day.</p><p>In the face of 9/11 and the 'war on terror', Arendt's work on the politics of freedom and the rights of man in a democratic state are especially relevant. Her impassioned plea for the creation of a public sphere through free, critical thinking and dialogue provides a significant resource for contemporary thought. </p><p>Covering her key ideas from <em>The Origins of Totalitarianism</em> and <em>The Human Condition</em> as well as some of her less well-known texts, and focussing in detail on Arendt's idea of storytelling, this guide brings Arendt's work into the twenty-first century while helping students to understand its urgent relevance for the contemporary world. </p> <p>Why Arendt? </p><p>1 Biography, Theory and Politics</p><p>2 Thinking and Society</p><p>3 Acting</p><p>4 Labour, Work and Modernism</p><p>5 Judging: From Kant to Eichmann</p><p>6 Anti-Semitism</p><p>7 Imperialism, Racism and Nation</p><p>8 Totalitarianism</p><p>Coda: Evil</p><p>After Arendt</p>