Identity and Resistance: Arendt Collections 2

One of the Twentieth Century's Most Original Philosophers

Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of Hannah Arendt's Passing – Taiwan's First Anthology of Her Untranslated Classics

Curated by Professor Yeh Ho, President of the Hannah Arendt Association of Taiwan, and Edited by Li Yu-chung, Translator of The Origins of Totalitarianism

Re-presenting Arendt's Important Works through a Thematic Structure

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◤　Volume Two: Identity and Resistance　◢

How can the stateless re-examine the definition of "being human"?
 

"Contemporary history has created a new kind of human being, locked up in concentration camps by their enemies and in internment camps by their friends.

But it is clear that no one has any interest in this fact."

── Hannah Arendt

Arendt's reflections on Jewish identity are often overshadowed by her fame. However, many of her thoughts on universal concepts such as "human rights," "action," "thinking," and "the public world" are rooted in her concrete experiences as a Jew. The articles selected for this book focus on Arendt's early writings after her arrival in the United States, dissecting the pitfalls and temptations faced by Jewish identity, and exploring how Jews can break free from the destiny of evasion and unite with other oppressed people.

In "We Refugees," Arendt describes the bitterness and helplessness of refugees constantly playing the role of "good immigrants" to "look like locals" in new countries. "The Jew as Pariah," "Re-evaluating Kafka," and "Revisiting Zionism" present both the path of struggle for universal rights as "conscious pariahs" and a sober reflection on exclusive nationalism, intertwining into a multi-layered contemplation of Jewish politics. Many insights directly point to the roots of today's Palestinian issue.

For today's refugee problem and the challenges of identity politics, the situations described in these articles may seem distant, yet they are ever-present and remain profoundly insightful.