In summer 2026, Hannah Arendt’s book The Origins of Totalitarianism was, for the first time, published in a critical edition. This edition contains the final versions of the book in English and German, with a scholarly apparatus and detailed annotations. It also includes earlier drafts of Arendt’s texts, as well as a comprehensive collection of essays, reviews, lectures, exposés, and typescripts from her archives. The presentation will highlight the advantages of the critical edition and discuss the timeliness of Arendt’s book. How does a critical edition differ from a ‘regular’ edition? How can this edition make new readings and interpretations of Arendt’s seminal work possible? In what ways can we relate her analysis of antisemitism, imperialism, and totalitarianism to the contemporary world?

Three editors of the book (Annette Vowinckel, Hanno Berger, and Elena Stingl) will participate in a conversation moderated by Magnus Ferguson (Department of Philosophy).

Presented by the Joyce Z. and Jacob Greenberg Center for Jewish Studies, the Committee on Social Thought, and the Department of Germanic Studies, with support from the Joseph S. Pinkert Memorial Fund.