CFP: Coming to terms with technology. Thinking with/in/through Hannah Arendt

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

In recent years, there has been an upsurge in literature examining the relationship between technology and Hannah Arendt’s political thought. This scholarly interest has taken multiple directions. Some authors have used Arendt’s concepts of plurality, the private, and natality as normative tools to critically assess contemporary technologies like social media. Others have turned their attention to the methodological aspects of Arendt’s work, reflecting on her distinct approach to thinking and the attitude she embodies as a thinker to grapple with technological developments. Still others have uncovered the ways in which Arendt herself engaged with the technological developments of her time, including nuclear weapons, cybernetics, and the space race.

This conference seeks to contribute to this growing interest by exploring how specific technological developments have influenced Arendt’s thinking and shaped the content of her work. In light of the accelerating pace of 21st-century technological advancements, Arendt’s work offers a compelling example of how one can think (politically) with and through technology. Accordingly, the aim of this gathering is not only to analyze the relationship between Arendt and technology but also to conduct Arendtian thinking exercises on contemporary technological phenomena and to explore their influence on our active and mental lives.

The theme of “coming to terms with technology” is central to this conference. As Arendt observed, the advent of new technologies, changing the way life unfolds on earth, requires that ‘we come to terms with and reconcile ourselves to reality, that is, try to be at home in the world’. While digital transformations are often (and sometimes rightfully) framed as existential threats to political and societal stability, Arendt’s reflections on crises in culture remind us that such moments also present opportunities for reflection, judgment, and new beginnings. This dual focus—on the challenges and the opportunities of technological transformation—guides the discussions we hope to foster.

This conference takes up this challenge of “coming to terms with” technological transformations and invites contributions that address questions such as:

• How have technological developments in the 20th century shaped Arendt’s methods and analyses?
• Where, and in which ways, does Arendt address the topic of technology?
• What might it mean to take inspiration from key concepts like labor, work, action, speech, etc. in the face of emerging technologies and their changing relation to socio-political contexts?
• Which aspects of Arendt’s thinking can be mobilized to understand the impact of new and emerging technologies today (e.g. social media, Artificial Intelligence, blockchain, digital commons, quantum technology, biotechnology, ...)?
• How might Arendt’s reflections on crises and new beginnings inspire our response to today’s technological and (socio-)political transformations?

Practical information

We invite 20’ presentations, followed by a 10’ Q&A.

Abstracts of 350-500 words should be sent in PDF-format to judith.van.lookeren.campagne[at]vub.be mentioning “Abstract Arendt/Technology” in the subject. Submissions should include: name of the author(s), institutional affiliation, and e-mail address, and a short bio (max. 100 words). The organizers are committed to seek a publisher for an edited volume with invited contributions from the conference, but no definite plans are available yet.

The event will take place in Brussels on 23-24 October 2025. Participants will be responsible for arranging and funding their own travel and accommodation. There is no registration fee. Lunch and refreshments will be provided.

Confirmed keynote speaker: Dr. Waseem Yaqoob (Queen Mary University of London).

Important dates:

• Deadline for abstracts: 28 March 2025
• Notification of acceptance: 30 May 2025
• Conference: 23-24 October 2025

Organised by Judith Campagne (Vrije Universiteit Brussel), Dr. Julia Maria Mönig (University of Bonn), and Anthony Longo (University of Antwerp) with support from The Centre for Ethics and Humanism (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) and the Center for European Philosophy (University of Antwerp).