Academy in One Day
Whilst Arendt is chiefly famous for her provocative study of the trial of Adolf Eichmann – from which we get the famous phrase ‘the banality of evil’ – Arendt’s important philosophical work, The Human Condition, is a profoundly original study of human life that deserves far greater attention than it receives. 

At the centre of The Human Condition is Arendt’s bold distinction between three spheres of human activity: Labour, Work, and Action. Labour, the toil that is essential for the preservation of biological life, Arendt associates with necessity, with what we must do to survive. The recurrent cycle of Labour and its characteristic lack of individuality is redeemed in part by Work – that is, the creation of and addition to the tangible human edifice, in a way that outlasts our own lives and makes possible our being remembered. For Arendt, however, it is only in Action that we experience freedom, for in Action we show ‘who’ we are (unique individuals), not merely ‘what’ we are (members of the human species). Only in Action are we motivated by concerns that go beyond the preservation of life. Rehabilitating this state of freedom, which Arendt associates with politics, is the central concern of The Human Condition. To this end, she draws on the Christian-Humanist celebration of natality, offering an impassioned defence of the ‘miracle’ that is the birth of each and every unique human being. 

The Human Condition is a challenging yet endlessly rewarding text, and the freshness and erudition of Arendt’s prose stands as a fine advert for the humanist ideals of the academy.

Speakers
Jon Nixon
writer, Centre of International Education and Lifelong Learning, Hong Kong Institute of Education; author, Hannah Arendt and the politics of friendship; founding co-editor, Perspectives in Leadership in Higher Education

Chair
Jacob Reynolds
consultant, SHM Productions


Hannah Arendt, The Human Condition

Background and poem text: https://www.brainpickings.org/2016/06/28/amanda-palmer-reads-humanity-i-love-you-e-e-cummings/

Join me in supporting Amanda on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/amandapalmer

BACKGROUND / POEM TEXT

Amanda Palmer reads "Humanity i love you" by e.e. cummings

Background, context, and poem text: https://www.brainpickings.org/2018/03/23/regina-spekgor-the-everyday-enchantment-of-music-mark-strand/

Recorded at "Poetry & the Creative Mind," hosted by The Academy of American Poets at Lincoln Center: https://www.poets.org/academy-american-poets/programs/poetry-creative-mind

POEM TEXT / CONTEXT

Regina Spektor reads "The Everyday Enchantment of Music" by Mark Strand

Poem text and vital context: https://www.brainpickings.org/2019/08/14/wendell-berry-questionnaire-amanda-palmer/

Amanda Palmer reads "Questionnaire" by Wendell Berry

ORDER CD HERE -> www.gizehstore.com
A limited edition of 175 copies as part of Gizeh's 'Dark Peak' series. Housed in a black, gatefold, recycled card sleeve. Each copy is printed and assembled by hand at Gizeh HQ. Download code included. Release 25.10.19
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PRESS:
• FIP "Le mythique Nanook of the north sublimé par Christine Ott & Torsten Böttcher" • NEW YORK MUSIC DAILY "Fans of both Philip Glass and Terry Riley ought to enjoy it." • ICI MUSIQUE, RADIO CANADA "A la fois sobre et éblouissant" • MAGIC RPM "une musique au naturel à la hauteur de ce film des grands espaces. (...) un album magnifique" • TSUGI "Les morceaux collent parfaitement à l’atmosphère du film" • INDIE ROCK MAG "Entre néoclassique et jazz, le spectre est large et le duo en explore une part conséquente des contours. Sombres ou sautillantes, jamais plombantes, les compositions telluriques nous ramènent à des éléments primaires qu’il serait finalement assez urgent de considérer comme actuels. En effet, comment peut-on se projeter sur une planète dont nous refusons de comprendre les besoins ? Le pouvoir de la musique est fort lorsque de tels questionnements s’ajoutent à la beauté intrinsèque des compositions. Christine Ott et Torsten Böttcher accomplissent donc une œuvre à la fois maligne et pleine de justesse." + INTERVIEW AVEC CHRISTINE OTT, "Par les temps qui courent" Marie Richeux, FRANCE CULTURE : "Les images vous font aller dans les recoins de votre univers sonore" www.franceculture.fr/emissions/par-les-temps-qui-courent/christine-ott

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Christine Ott & Torsten Böttcher - Nanook

In this broadcast from Cologne, Germany, recorded on April 30, 2015, at the Kölner Philharmonie during the New York Philharmonic’s EUROPE / SPRING 2015 tour, then Music Director Alan Gilbert conducts Stravinsky’s complete score to the ballet Petrushka, featuring Philharmonic pianist Eric Huebner, as well as Ravel’s Valses nobles et sentimentales and Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier Suite. Stick around for the encores: a waltz from Swan Lake and a rousing brass arrangement of That’s a Plenty.  

STRAVINSKY  Petrushka (1911 version, complete ballet score) 
                 Eric Huebner, Piano 

RAVEL  Valses nobles et sentimentales 

R. STRAUSS  Der Rosenkavalier Suite 

Encores: 

TCHAIKOVSKY  Waltz from Act 1, Scene 2 of Swan Lake 

POLLACK  That’s a Plenty  

Alan Gilbert, Conductor

Stravinsky’s Petrushka from Cologne

Poem text and context: https://www.brainpickings.org/2020/05/31/spell-to-be-said-against-hatred-jane-hirshfield

Amanda Palmer reads “Spell to Be Said against Hatred” by Jane Hirshfield

Artist Debbie Millman's narration of her wondrous illustrated love letter to the garden: https://www.brainpickings.org/2020/07/24/debbie-millman-love-letter-to-my-garden

Regina Spektor reads "The Everyday Enchantment of Music" by Mark Strand

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