PS 420

This course is dedicated to reading some of Hannah Arendt's seminal works with a particular focus on her thinking about science and art as these two human activities relate to the human condition. In addition to close readings of some of Arendt's most important books and essays, we will also explore the challenge that scientific rationality and artificial intelligence pose to the humanity of humans. In conjunction with the 2010 Arendt Center Conference on "Human Being in an Inhuman Age," we will ask how Arendt's work helps us to think about the ways that automation, artificial intelligence, and rational machines are transforming the very nature of what it means to be human. In addition to Bard undergraduates, the participants will include visiting fellows from the Hannah Arendt Center for Ethical and Political Thinking. The course is also open to select students from the Center for Curatorial Studies (CCS). Beyond scheduled class meetings, students are expected to attend lectures and other events sponsored by the Arendt Center and CCS.

View the syllabus here.