Politics in Dark Times

3.0 credits · Undergraduate

What does it mean to live and act politically in “dark times”? This class considers this question via the work of Hannah Arendt, one of the most brilliant, maddening, controversial, and unclassifiable political thinkers of the twentieth century, offering students a sampling of her writings from the 1940s into the 1970s paired with writings on related themes by some of her contemporaries. Topics and pairings will change from year to year but may include the rise of authoritarian and totalitarian forms of government, ancient Greek and Roman philosophy and politics, the intersections between capitalism, bureaucracy, and technology, the meanings of fundamental ideas like “freedom” and “power,” the political significance of modern art, literature and culture, revolutionary politics in Europe and North America, racism and antisemitism, violence, war, and civil disobedience, among others. (GOVT-PT)