The Joy of Arendt Center Conferences

Roger Berkowitz

Arendt Center member Neil Gussman writes about his experience attending Hannah Arendt Center Conferences, most recently our conference Between Power and Authority. 

My only expertise when I go to these conferences is that I have read all of the Hannah Arendt's major works and many of her essays.  For me each session opens a new aspect of Arendt's thoughts which often gives me a glimpse into a world I knew nothing of, or gives me a new perspective on a topic I have some familiarity with.  

At this conference, the Supreme Court was, in part, the subject of both panels on first day of the conference as well as the keynote lecture in the evening. Arendt's book "On Revolution" (my personal favorite of all her works) was mentioned a lot as was "Eichmann in Jerusalem". 

In "Eichmann" the question of "What is justice?" hovers over the whole story of the trial. In "On Revolution" the unique success of the American Revolution amid so many  revolutions that end in tyranny made a great perspective to exam the long-term effectiveness of the Supreme Court and the rest of the judiciary the current lowering of its esteem.