Washington, DC, Harper Lecture: On the 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Hannah Arendt and the Fragility of Human Rights

Featuring Susan Gzesh, AB’72

In The Origins of Totalitarianism, written just after the United Nations ratified the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Hannah Arendt expressed her doubts that a system of universal, internationally enforced human rights would ever work. Anyone not protected by his or her own nation-state (for instance, the stateless and refugees) has nowhere to turn, Arendt stated. Susan Gzesh asks how we should assess the modern human rights regime as it has developed over the past 70 years, given such facts as the turning away of refugees by the European Union and the United States; the rise of right-wing regimes in Hungary, Poland, Egypt, Turkey, and elsewhere; and the repudiation of international leadership by the Trump administration.

Questions?
Contact alumniassociation@uchicago.edu or 773.702.2150.

Event Details

6:30 p.m. Registration and networking
7:00 p.m. Presentation and discussion
8:00 p.m. Reception

$20/person
$10/Maroon Loyalty Society member or recent graduate (College alumni of the past 10 years and graduate alumni of the past five years)
Free for current academic year graduates and current students
Two complimentary registrations for members of the Chicago, Harper, Odyssey, and Phoenix philanthropic societies

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Parking Information

Valet parking is available for $34.