Hannah Arendt’s The Human Condition, Prologue and Chapter 1 (1958)
Hannah Arendt
For the month of September, we will discuss the Prologue and first chapter of The Human Condition, arguably the most influential work of German-American philosopher Hannah Arendt, one of the most influential political theorists of the twentieth century.
Our discussion will be held:
September 24, 2025
7:00-9:00 pm
On a secure Zoom session (see instructions below).
No expertise or prerequisites are required. We only ask that you read the selected text. Any version of the text may be used. For your convenience a link to the text is provided above.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE ZOOM SESSION
If you think you will be attending the session, please send me an email (maxyela@uwm.edu) about your intention to attend (even if you decide not to attend later). I will accept notices of intent until 5:00 p.m., September 24. Between 6:30 and 6:45 on the day of our discussion, September 24, you will receive an email from me with an automatic password-protected URL. Please use that URL to join the session (you will of course need to use a computer with a microphone and a video camera in it — if you want to be seen, that is). When you join, you will be placed in a waiting room that I will be monitoring to allow attendees into the session. Only those I have emailed will be allowed into the session. This process is intended to maximize the security of our meeting.
If you have never participated in an online audio/video meeting before, when you join you will most likely see a box at the top of your screen asking if you want to open Zoom. After opening, you will likely be asked to “Join with Computer Audio,” which of course you will do. When you hover over the screen, you will see microphone and camera icons at the bottom left that you may use to turn your own sound and video on and off.
I think that’s all you need to know. I look forward to virtually seeing and hearing you at our discussion!
These discussions are free and open to the public, and I invite you to participate.
