L.127.15400 Political Freedom, Political Knowledge: Feminist Interpretations of Hannah Arendt

Lehrende: Maria Anna Robaszkiewicz

Veranstaltungsart: Seminar

Orga-Einheit: Philosophie

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Unterrichtssprache: Englisch

Min. | Max. Teilnehmerzahl: - | -

Literatur:
Arendt, Hannah, Between Past and Future. Eight Exercises in Political Thought, Penguin Classics, 2006.
Honig, Bonnie [hrsg.], Feminist Interpretations of Hannah Arendt, Pennsylvania State University Press, 1995.
Zerilli, Linda, Feminism and the Abyss of Freedom, University of Chicago Press, 2005.

Kommentar:
The working language of this seminar is English. Your English doesn’t need to be flawless, though. Eagerness to take active part in the discussion is valued more than language proficiency.

Hannah Arendt provoked second wave feminists with statements like the following: „I have actually been rather old-fashioned. I always thought that there were certain occupations that are improper for women, that do not become them, if I may put it that way. It just doesn‘t look good if a woman gives orders. She should try not to get into such a situation if she wants to remain feminine.” Therefore, the early feminist reactions to Arendts work described it as expressing the “tragedy of a female mind nourished on male ideology” (Adrienne Rich), stating that “though Arendt was female, there is a lot of machismo in her vision” (Hanna Pitkin). Now, given the circumstances, how can Arendt be of any relevance to feminist theory? In the course of the seminar we will examine the history of feminist reception of her thought to discover its emancipatory potential. We will focus on the third wave and recent interpretations that prove numerous central notions of her political philosophy to be very fruitful for feminist critique.