Seminar Series: Hannah Arendt in the Present: Reimagining Political Life.

Overview

This webinar series positions Hannah Arendt’s thought not only as a framework for interpreting the present but as a resource for reimagining political life under contemporary conditions. At a moment marked by democratic strain, technological transformation, and shifting forms of social isolation, the series invites participants to engage Arendt’s concepts as tools for thinking beyond inherited categories and reopening the space of political possibility.

Rather than approaching Arendt as an object of commentary, each session treats her work as a starting point for inquiry into how a common world can be reconstituted. Concepts such as loneliness, amor mundi, imagination, and politics are mobilized to explore how individuals and collectives might recover the capacity to act, judge, and initiate something new under conditions in which the terms of political life appear increasingly constrained.

Bringing together scholars and practitioners, the series is structured as a set of thematic interventions into the present. Each session examines not only how Arendt helps diagnose contemporary dynamics—such as democratic fragility or the erosion of the public sphere—but also how her thought enables us to imagine alternative forms of coexistence, responsibility, and collective action. The aim is to create a space in which political thinking is not limited to analysis, but oriented toward the reconstruction of shared worlds.

The series is designed for an interdisciplinary audience, including scholars, policymakers, practitioners, and students interested in political theory, democratic governance, and the future of public life.

Format:

Frequency: One webinar per month (September 2026–February 2027)

Duration: 60–75 minutes per session

Structure:

Opening remarks (5 minutes)

Speaker presentation (25–30 minutes)

Moderated discussion (20 minutes)

Audience Q&A (10–15 minutes)

Delivery: Online

Recording: Sessions will be recorded and made available for later access

Sessions:

From 18th September, 2026 to 26th February, 2027, always at 14:00 (Lisbon time)