"Hannah Arendt's The
Origins of Totalitarianism"
January 17-19, 2002
When Hannah Arendt's The Origins of Totalitarianism first appeared,
it generated significant controversy by comparing Nazi Germany to Stalinist
Russia. In 1951, after all, Stalin was still alive, World War II was
yet a very fresh wound, and the Cold War had only just begun. But even
to this day, The Origins elicits debate. On the one hand, scholars
admire the innovative and provocative way The Origins assesses
the social forces that make totalitarian regimes possible; on the other,
they accuse Arendt of over-generalizing and taking too little account
of national differences that distinguish the German situation from the
Russian. Still other critics take issue with Arendt's argument that
totalitarianism was only the crystallization of nineteenth-century imperial
expansion, and the "race-thinking" that made it possible.
Despite Arendt's many strong detractors, however, it is indisputable
that The Origins of Totalitarianism has come to occupy a central
position in contemporary social theory. Arendt argues that totalitarianism
manipulates state efficiency, isolation of individuals, and belief in
the superfluity of human life into regimes of violence and terror. Part
of her text's allure for more contemporary thinkers is the extent to
which her insights into totalitarian regimes enlighten us on developments
within late capitalism as well. Thinking about the similarities and
distinctions between totalitarianism and capitalism has helped scholars
consider the conditions that make state violence and state terror possible.
At this moment in history when notions of justified aggression are
dividing nations, and communities within them, relations between statehood,
violence, racism, and terror seem crucially important to consider. Arendt's
text helps us to reconsider how economic and social ideologies create
these systems of power both within and between communities. Give the
framework that Arendt establishes, how can a population recognize its
own manipulation by state propaganda? When is violence justified, either
by states or by non-state organizations? What distinguishes war, revolution,
and terrorism?
The Origins approaches such questions with a methodology that
cuts across numerous disciplinary boundaries. It is appropriate that
our seminar will approach Arendt's text from the multiple perspectives
of literary criticism, philosophy, political science, and history. This
disciplinary breadth will allow us to examine Arendt's commentary on
Cold War culture alongside broad theoretical discussions about how The
Origins understands identity politics, mass culture, globalization,
and the relation between the state and the media.
Speakers will include Charles Larmore (Social Thought, Philosophy),
Norma Moruzzi (Political Science, U.I.C.), Deborah Nelson (English),
Robert Pippin (Social Thought, Philosophy), Moishe Postone (History),
and Iris Young (Political Science).
|
University of Chicago