Reintroducing Hannah Arendt
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd
Publishing:22nd Apr '26
£39.99
This title is due to be published on 22nd April, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
Reintroducing Hannah Arendt connects Arendt’s philosophical and political thought to social theory and the social sciences in the 21st century, as individuals experience profound social, political, and technological change.
Though classifying herself as a political theorist sceptical of sociology and the social sciences, Arendt’s critique of mass society shares much in common with perennial themes in social theory. Indeed, her reflections on the importance of the world and the power of stories, the prevalence of loneliness and alienation, statelessness, cynicism in politics, antisemitism, imperialism, totalitarianism, and the banality of evil mark her as one of the most original and provocative thinkers of the 20th century. Reintroducing Hannah Arendt links her focus on the unprecedented nature of totalitarianism with the importance of plurality, birth, freedom, responsibility, and new beginnings.
In addition to outlining central themes in her published work, Siobhan Kattago argues for the acuity of Hannah Arendt’s insights for understanding our century of polarised politics, post-truth, artificial intelligence, social media, and echo chambers. The volume will thus appeal to scholars and students of sociology, philosophy, social theory, and politics with interests in the thought of Hannah Arendt and its enduring significance.
‘Kattago’s superb book is a breath of fresh air, not only reinterpreting Arendt’s profound relevance to sociology but also opening new avenues for thinking about the most pressing challenges of our times—not least the unprecedented power of AI-enabled technologies, and the undervalued radicality of daring to truly love our world. A nuanced, timely and undoubtedly compelling work.’
Patrick Hayden, University of St Andrews, UK
'In this marvelous book, Siobhan Kattago illuminates Arendt as a thinker we shall (re)turn to in the face of the dark times looming large today, while she remains true to Arendt’s radical belief in new beginnings.'
Maria Robaszkiewicz, Paderborn University, Germany
'This book resituates a political reading of Arendt and, with clarity and depth, elucidates Arendt's actual and philosophical journey across continents and epochs. More than ever, Arendt's work is of decisive importance in understanding the world, natality, and the life of the mind and the work of the world in modernity. Siobhan Kattago's own Odyssean journey to understand this work of "thinking without a banister" is of huge import in delineating what Arendt offers to us with open hands and wonder in a new age of totalitarianism.'
Martyn Hudson, Northumbria University, UK
'The mark of a great interpreter is to find what the rest of us missed in the work of a great author. Wide in scope, subtle in analysis, and always morally serious, Professor Kattago’s book is more than a reintroduction to Arendt. It is nothing less than a renewal of her vision by one of our most sensitive and thoughtful contemporaries.'
Peter Baehr, University of South Florida, USA
'This elegant book “reintroduces” the power, as well as the limitations, of one of the most provocative 20th century thinkers, informed by the best 21st century commentaries. Kattago demonstrates how Arendt’s thoughts about totalitarianism, the nature of evil, and racism, as well as the importance of love of the world, a free public life, and the right to have rights, are strikingly illuminating in our dark times.'
Jeffrey C. Goldfarb, The New School for Social Research, USA
ISBN: 9781032318837
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: 453g
178 pages