The Roundtable: On Civil Disobedience - Thoreau, Arendt, King | Bonus Episode

This week we're sharing a recording from our friends at the Roundtable by the 92nd Street Y, New York, a world-class destination for online courses on literature, the arts, history, and much more, brought to you by some of the greatest minds of our time. 

In his lecture from October 22nd, Roger Berkowitz discusses his recent book On Civil Disobedience published by the Library of America, and explores the concept through the works and ideas of Henry David Thoreau, Hannah Arendt, and Martin Luther King Jr. Berkowitz argues that civil disobedience has uniquely American roots, tied to fundamental political ideas and experiences. He explains that while Thoreau viewed civil disobedience primarily as a moral resistance to unjust laws, and King pushed it further into the realm of political activism. Arendt's perspective highlights the collective and organized nature of modern civil disobedience as a political movement rather than a mere moral stance. Berkowitz also addresses contemporary movements such as Occupy Wall Street, the Tea Party, Black Lives Matter, and MAGA, analyzing their efficacy and the challenges of translating moral victories into policy changes. He concludes by emphasizing the importance of civility and nonviolence in civil disobedience, especially in the context of modern American politics.

 

ABOUT:

Produced by the Hannah Arendt Center at Bard College, this podcast offers close readings of Arendt's books alongside engaging interviews and thought-provoking conversations. Released weekly, each episode provides listeners with a deeper understanding of Arendt's philosophy and its relevance to contemporary issues. Available on all major podcast platforms, listeners join us on a captivating intellectual journey through the mind of Hannah Arendt.

New episodes every Friday morning! Join Roger Berkowitz, Founder and Academic Director of the Hannah Arendt Center for Politics and Humanities at Bard College, as he discusses the works of German Jewish political theorist Hannah Arendt (1906-1975). 

 

THE HANNAH ARENDT CENTER:

The Hannah Arendt Center provides an intellectual space for passionate, uncensored, and nonpartisan thinking that reframes and deepens the fundamental questions facing our nation and our world. Become a member and enjoy several benefits including access to our virtual reading group that takes place every Friday: https://hac.bard.edu/membership/

More information can be found on our website: https://hac.bard.edu/ Follow us on twitter https://twitter.com/arendt_center and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hannaharendtcenteratbard/

 

THE HOST:

Roger Berkowitz is the Founder and Academic Director of the Hannah Arendt Center at Bard College. He is the editor of The Perils of Invention: Lying, Technology, and the Human Condition, and co-editor of Thinking in Dark Times: Hannah Arendt on Ethics and Politics (2009), and Artifacts of Thinking: Reading Hannah Arendt’s Denktagebuch (2017). Berkowitz edits HA: The Journal of the Hannah Arendt Center and the weekly newsletter Amor Mundi. He is the winner of the 2019 Hannah Arendt Prize for Political Thought given by the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Germany.

 

EDITED BY:

Alex Fox Tschan is the editor & co-producer of the “Reading Hannah Arendt with Roger Berkowitz” podcast. He is a working musician, creative producer, & audio/visual editor at his Brooklyn-based studio, The Fox & The Sound. With 25 years of recording & performance experience, Tschan’s recent projects range from indie-pop albums to audiobooks for McNally Jackson. A full spread of his work & collaborations can be found at pastelhell.com