Life, Theory, and Group Identity in Hannah Arendt's Thought

Philosophy typically ignores biographical, historical, and cultural aspects of theoriss’ lives  in an attempt to take a supposedly abstract and objective view of their work. This book makes some new conclusions about Arendt’s theory by emphasizing how her experience of the world as displayed in her archival materials impacted her thought. Some aspects of Arendt’s life have been examined in detail before, including the fact she was stateless as well as her affair with Heidegger. Instead, this work explores different topics including the biographical and narrative moments of Arendt's own work, the role of archiving in her thought, pivotal events that have not been archived, her understanding of her own identities, and how it affected the role of identity politics in her work. Typically, group action is underemphasized in Arendt scholarship in comparison to individual action and often identity politics questions are considered to lie within the realm of the private. Although Arendt’s theory is problematic when discussing issues concerning identity politics, she did think identity politics could be public and political and that effective political actions may occur within groups. What makes this project unique are the innovative conclusions made by moving the archival and biographical evidence to the center in order to understand her theory more accurately and within its historical and cultural context. This volume will be of interest to professional scholars in Arendt’s work, but also to those who have a more general interest in her life and theory.

Introduction

Chapter 1: Life and Philosophy

a.       Without an Umbrella: Rahel Varnhagen and Origins of Totalitarianism

b.      Prism of History

Chapter 2: Remembering and the Archive

a.       Saving the Life Story

b.      Bad Luck and Loss of a Friend

Chapter 3: Holes of Oblivion: Hannah Arendt’s Silence

a.       Never Going Home Again: Königsberg

b.      Internment at Gurs

Chapter 4: Life and Philosophical Influence

a.       Arendt and Jaspers: From Student to Friend

b.      Arendt and Heidegger: Ebbs and Flows

c.       Jaspers and Heidegger: Friendship Disintegrated

Chapter 5: Arendt’s Narrative and Identity

a.       We Refugees

b.      Jewish Politics and Controversy

c.       Identity Politics and Little Rock

Chapter 6: Identity Politics

a.       Arendt’s Identities

b.      Identity and Politics

c.       Groups

Karin Fry is Department Chair and Professor of Philosophy at Georgia Southern  University, USA. She is the author of Arendt: a Guide for the Perplexed (2009) and Religious Right and Secular Left: The Road to Compromise (2014), and is managing editor of Arendt Studies, a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the study of the life, work, and legacy of Hannah Arendt.