POL 4275 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: The Modern Age, Statelessness, Martin Heidegger
Document Summary
Grew up in prussia, jewish family (though highly secularized), well-assimilated to. She only understood herself as jewish in the context of anti-semitism. Always felt like an outsider in life. Phd completed 1929, concepts of love in st augustine, studied with husserl, Phenomenology (& existentialism?) predominantly concerned with political philosophy. Political implications and contributions unclear as to what type. 1933 - 1945 translated german philosophical tradition into an ideology befitting. Arendt briefly imprisoned by gestapo in 1933, then fled as a jewish intellectual. 1937 - lost german citizenship - stateless person, refugee. 1941 - left france and arrived in us. Many of her works try to explain the happenings in europe. Between past and future - german and jewish emigrate trying to understand tradition in europe and its political collapse. Frankfurt school, critical theory - german leftist intellectuals, western (non-soviet) Benjamin, marcuse, adorno, horkheimer - dialectic of enlightenment - highly political.