ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on Michael Mack's exploration of the links between Hannah Arendt's analysis of the life of the mind and her more explicit political concerns. It also focuses on Conversation and Context that is opened by Ned Curthoys who locates Arendt's work directly against the thought of Ernst Cassirer, and more generally against what he identifies as a subaltern German Jewish approach to history and philosophy. The screening of Arendt's interview with Günter Gaus at symposiums held in Sydney and Melbourne in 2006 to commemorate the centenary of her birth was a highlight of both events. The conference in Sydney was organized by the Sydney Society for Literature and Aesthetics (SSLA) with the generous support of the School of Languages and Cultures, the Arts Faculty and the Department of Modern Greek at the University of Sydney.
