{"id":5943,"date":"2025-06-03T02:31:24","date_gmt":"2025-06-03T00:31:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.dsu.univr.it\/arendt\/?p=5943"},"modified":"2025-06-03T02:49:26","modified_gmt":"2025-06-03T00:49:26","slug":"arendtian-counciliarism-visions-and-care-for-democracy-verona-25-27-june-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.dsu.univr.it\/arendt\/arendtian-counciliarism-visions-and-care-for-democracy-verona-25-27-june-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Arendtian Counciliarism: Visions and Care for Democracy \u2013 Verona, 25-27 June 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Hannah Arendt\u2019s death, this conference aims to explore a largely overlooked theme in Arendtian political thought: the proposal of a federal council system. Her vision is primarily examined in On Revolution<\/em>, where Arendt’s famous comparison between the American and French Revolutions culminates in a celebration of the rare historical appearance of such system, reflecting her \u201cromantic sympathy\u201d for it, while also making clear the e ort she makes to envision new local, participatory, and radically democratic institutions.<\/p>\n

By highlighting a political constellation of events ranging from the Athenian city-state and medieval municipalities to the Roman Republic, Thomas Jefferson’s townships, the Paris Commune of 1871, Rosa Luxemburg\u2019s council communist tradition, the establishment of Jewish kibbutzim in the early 1930s and 1940s, concluding with the Hungarian Revolution in 1956, the reason why Arendt presents these historical examples to such an extent can be traced to the desire to advocate for a possible rehabilitation of a participatory, and radically active democracy which would correspond with democracy\u2019s nature herself.<\/p>\n

While Arendt critiques modern representative politics, which are based on the party system and the principle of sovereignty, the council system works as a counter-argument that envisions a democratic body politic grounded on political equality, plurality, and more importantly, on the civic engagement and shared deliberation of the people in the public sphere. In this context, the proposal of the council system not only puts the entire conceptual framework of Arendt\u2019s political thought into a different perspective\u2014such as her notions of foundation, constitution, institution, revolution, the promise of politics and freedom, and her distinction between the political and the socio-economic realms\u2014but also raises the question of whether this council tradition still operates as an alternative to our current neoliberal scenario.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

The event will take place at \u201cPolo Didattico Zanotto\u201d, located at Viale Universit\u00e0, 4, Verona<\/strong><\/p>\n

25th June<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Venue: Room T.1 (ground floor)
\n<\/strong>5 p.m.<\/u> Welcome<\/p>\n

5.30 p.m.<\/u>\u00a0\u00a0 Keynote Speaker<\/em>
\nMarci Shore <\/strong>(University of Toronto) – \u201cAlles Denken ist Nachdenken\u201d: Care for Democracy, Care for the Soul, and the Limits of the Nonpolitical.” <\/em><\/strong>in conversation with Olivia Guaraldo <\/strong>(Universit\u00e0 di Verona)<\/p>\n

7 p.m.<\/u> Reception<\/strong> (Venue: Chiostro Santa Maria delle Vittorie<\/strong>) and Arendt Jazz Hour<\/strong> with Joris Roelofs<\/span>.<\/p>\n

26th June<\/strong><\/h2>\n

09.30 a.m.<\/u><\/p>\n

Session 1a –\u00a0Chair: Daniele Bassi (Universit\u00e0 degli Studi dell\u2019Insubria)
\n<\/strong>Venue: Room 1.1 (first floor)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rosa Luxemburg and the Others<\/em>
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  • Giulia Longoni<\/strong> (Universit\u00e0 degli Studi di Milano – La Statale): Rosa Luxemburg and Hannah Arendt between Revolution and Counciliarism\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/em><\/li>\n
  • Rosario Fern\u00e1ndez Ossand\u00f3n<\/strong> (Universidad de Chile): Care as a Political Action Readings between Feminist Philosophy and Hannah Arendt<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Anarchism and\/or Federalism?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

      \n
    • Sandra Rossetti<\/strong> (Independent Researcher): \u201cAnarchic\u201d Resonances in Hannah Arendt\u2019s Thought
      \n<\/em><\/li>\n
    • Mattia Bottino<\/strong> (Alma Mater Studiorum\u00a0– Universit\u00e0 di Bologna): An Account of Deliberative Federalism: Towards a Leap in Federal Studies <\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Session 1b – Chair: Giacomo Mormino (Universit\u00e0 di Verona)
      \n<\/strong>Venue: Room 1.2 (first floor)<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Relating narratives<\/em>
      \n<\/strong><\/p>\n

        \n
      • Marco di Crescenzo<\/strong> (Universit\u00e0 degli Studi di Urbino –\u00a0Carlo Bo): The Literary Value of Institutionalized Remembrance: A Tale of Redemption. <\/em>Exploring the Political-Literary Analogies between American Jeremiads and Hannah Arendt’s On Revolution<\/em><\/li>\n
      • Jo-Anne Dillanbough<\/strong> (University of Cambridge): Traces, Imperial Ruins and Intellectual Afterlives: Arendt, Sebald, and the Unfinished Legacies of Empire<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        American Tunes<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

          \n
        • Maria Teresa Pacil\u00e8<\/strong> (Universit\u00e0 degli Studi di Messina): Tocqueville’s legacy in Hannah Arendt’s Political Philosophy: Councils and Participatory Processes\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n
        • Magnus Ferguson<\/strong> (University of Chicago): Arendt\u2019s Theatre for Ideas<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          12.30 a.m.<\/u>\u00a0 Lunch break: Catered Reception<\/em>\u00a0(Venue: Chiostro Santa Maria delle Vittorie)<\/strong><\/p>\n

          2.30 p.m.<\/u><\/p>\n

          Session 2a –\u00a0Chair:\u00a0 Maria Bj\u00f6rkholm (\u00c5bo Akademi)
          \n<\/strong>Venue: Room 1.1 (first floor)<\/strong><\/p>\n

          Lasting Memories<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

            \n
          • Kazue Koishikawa<\/strong> (University of Tsukuba): The Paradox of Council Tradition in Arendt: The Existential Core of Understanding<\/em><\/li>\n
          • Kun-Feng Tu<\/strong> (National Sun Yat-sen University): Authority as the Promise of Freedom Reconsidering the Conceptual Relationship between Power and Authority in Hannah Arendt\u2019s Political Thought<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            Practicing Hope<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

              \n
            • Yasemin Sari and Florian Grosser<\/strong> (Seattle University \/ University of Chicago): From Practice to Theory: Arendt\u2019s Counciliarism Reconsidered<\/em><\/li>\n
            • Shree Agnihotri<\/strong> (The London School of Economics and Political Science): Law and Hope: Reimagining Arendt\u2019s Council Democracy as a Juridical and Political Framework\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

              Session 2b – Chair: Gabriele Parrino (Scuola Normale Superiore)
              \n<\/strong>Venue: Room 1.2 (first floor)<\/strong><\/p>\n

              The Freedom to be Free<\/em>
              \n<\/strong><\/p>\n

                \n
              • Jennifer Gaffney<\/strong> (Loyola University Chicago): Hannah Arendt and the Haitian Revolution: Accounting for History in Deliberative Politics<\/em><\/li>\n
              • Mathijs van de Sande<\/strong> (Radboud Universiteit) Between the Social Republic and Council Democracy: Marx and Arendt on the Paris Commune of 1871<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                Lost Treasures<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

                  \n
                • Elvira Roncalli<\/strong> (Carroll College): The Taste of Public Freedom: Politics as \u201cIslands\u201d in a Sea or \u201cOases\u201d in a Desert<\/em><\/li>\n
                • Sofia Merli<\/strong> (Scuola Normale Superiore): Solidarno\u015b\u0107 and Charta 77 as Islands of Civic Engagement in light of Hannah Arendt\u2019s Counciliarism<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                  5.30 p.m.<\/u>\u00a0 Coffee break<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

                  6 p.m.<\/u> Keynote Speaker<\/em>
                  \nAngela Taraborrelli <\/strong>(Universit\u00e0 degli Studi di Cagliari) – The Role of the Council System in Arendt\u2019s Cosmopolitan Vision<\/em>, <\/strong>in conversation with Roger Berkowitz <\/strong>(Founder and Academic Director of the Hannah Arendt Center for Politics and Humanities – Bard College) – Venue: Room 1.1 (first floor)<\/strong><\/p>\n

                  8:30 p.m<\/u>. Social Dinner<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

                  27th June<\/strong><\/h3>\n

                  09.00 a.m.<\/u>\u00a0\u00a0 A Discussion and Workshop on Reimagining Democracy Today Through Citizen Assemblies <\/em>with Roger Berkowitz <\/strong>(Bard College), Claudia Chwalisz <\/strong>(Founder and CEO of DemocracyNext), David Van Reybrouck <\/strong>(Writer) – Venue: Room 1.1 (first floor)<\/strong><\/p>\n

                  11.30 a.m.<\/u> Coffee Break<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

                  12.00 p.m.<\/u>\u00a0 Keynote Speaker
                  \n<\/em>Shmuel Lederman <\/strong>(University of Haifa) – Rethinking Arendt’s Councils amidst the War in Gaza <\/em><\/strong>in conversation with Matteo Bortolini <\/strong>(Universit\u00e0 di Padova) –\u00a0Venue: Room 1.1 (first floor)<\/strong><\/p>\n

                  1.30 p.m.<\/u>\u00a0 Lunch break<\/strong>: Catered Reception<\/em> (Venue: Chiostro Santa Maria delle Vittorie<\/strong>)<\/p>\n

                  3 p.m.<\/u><\/p>\n

                  Session 3a – Chair: Anna Argir\u00f2 (Hannah Arendt Center for Political Studies – Verona)
                  \n<\/strong>Venue: Room 1.1 (first floor)<\/strong><\/p>\n

                  As a Fata Morgana I<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

                    \n
                  • Jacky Tai<\/strong> (National Sun Yat-sen University): Council as an Apparatus of the People: Reading Arendt under Authoritarianism<\/em><\/li>\n
                  • Davide Grasso<\/strong> (Universit\u00e0 di Torino): Hannah Arendt and the Paradigm of Democratic Modernity<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                    As a Fata Morgana II<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

                      \n
                    • Fou\u00e2d Oveisy<\/strong> (York University): Strategic Imagination is a Democratic Necessity: The Case of the Rojava Revolution <\/em><\/li>\n
                    • Niklas Pl\u00e4tzer<\/strong> (University of Chicago): Arendt after Empire: On Revolution in the World <\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                      Session 3b – Chair: Natascia Tosel (Universit\u00e0 di Verona)
                      \n<\/strong>Venue: Room 1.2 (first floor)<\/strong><\/p>\n

                      Antiquity Anew<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

                        \n
                      • Dino Piovan<\/strong> (Alma Mater Studiorum\u00a0 – Universit\u00e0 di Bologna): Arendt and the Ancient Greek Democracy <\/em><\/li>\n
                      • Steffen Herrmann<\/strong> (FernUniversit\u00e4t in Hagen): Contestatory Institutions for a Republic of Councils. An Actualization<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                        Modernity Reconsidered<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

                          \n
                        • Dana Villa<\/strong> (University of Notre Dame): As \u201cAlternative Model of the State\u201d?: The Limits of Arendt\u2019s Celebration of the Council System<\/em><\/li>\n
                        • Viktoria Huegel<\/strong> (Universit\u00e4t Wien): From Authority to Authoritarianism, and back again? Arendt\u2019s Critique of Modernity and the Salvation of Authority<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                          6 p.m.<\/u>\u00a0 \u00a0 Closing Remarks<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                          To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Hannah Arendt\u2019s death, this conference aims to explore a largely overlooked theme in Arendtian political thought: the proposal of a federal council system. Her vision is primarily examined in On Revolution, where Arendt’s famous comparison between the American and French Revolutions culminates in a celebration of the rare historical…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":5965,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-senza-categoria"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dsu.univr.it\/arendt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dsu.univr.it\/arendt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dsu.univr.it\/arendt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dsu.univr.it\/arendt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dsu.univr.it\/arendt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5943"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dsu.univr.it\/arendt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5943\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5956,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dsu.univr.it\/arendt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5943\/revisions\/5956"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dsu.univr.it\/arendt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5965"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dsu.univr.it\/arendt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dsu.univr.it\/arendt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dsu.univr.it\/arendt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}