Hannah Arendt An Introduction John McGowan		$22.50 Paper ISBN: 0-8166-3070-4 ISBN-13: 978-0-8166-3070-7
An informative and lively book about one of the foremost political thinkers of our time. Hannah Arendt was one of this century's leading political theorists and most controversial public intellectuals. Her work challenges received opinions about politics and cherished conceptions of modernity. Firmly locating Arendt's ideas in the context of our times, John McGowan here offers a clear, concise overview of Arendt's work and its continuing importance. The book is organized around three central Arendtian themes: the unfolding of identity through political action, the modern assault on a richly pluralistic world, and the effort to comprehend evil. Arendt was both a commentator on the events of her time (from totalitarianism and the Holocaust to the Vietnam War) and a sophisticated political theorist. McGowan lucidly explains the theoretical and philosophical convictions that stood behind her various—and often controversial—interventions in contemporary affairs. He explores the new ways of thinking that Arendt's work opens up regarding current issues such as human rights, identity politics, and participatory democracy. A concluding chapter connects Arendt's thought to contemporary social theory and today's political debates. Briskly written, McGowan's book serves Arendt's complex thought well while also rendering it accessible, demonstrating the unity of Arendt's career and the continuing relevance of her concerns. "Lively and engagingly written. This is a welcome addition to the growth industry known as Arendt studies." —First Things John McGowan is professor of English and comparative literature at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is also coeditor, with Craig Calhoun, of Hannah Arendt and the Meaning of Politics. 224 pages | 5 7/8 x 9 | 1997 Contents Chapter 1: Origins: Arendt's Life and Coming to Terms with Totalitarianism Biography Arendt on Totalitarianism Chapter 2: Politics as Identity-Disclosing Action The Political and the Public Labor and Work Behavior and the Social Explaining the Rise of the Social Action, Freedom, and Identity in the Space of Appearances A Pick-Up Basketball Game Participatory Democracy Conclusion: Recovering Citizenship Chapter 3: Understanding and Judging the Reality of Evil The Reality of Evil Thinking Judging Storytelling Conclusion: Are We Being Political Yet? Chapter 4: Arendt Now The Meaning of Democracy A Democratic Ethos