Thomas Mann House Events Archive
October 2025
The Business of Democracy
Goethe-institut Washington D.C.
Language: English • By Invitation Only
Info
In an era defined by political polarization and democratic backsliding, this symposium convened by 2025 Thomas Mann Fellow Rana Deep Islam focuses on the evolving role of the private sector in upholding democratic values. During his time in the US, Islam examines the role and interests of corporations to forge alliances in favor of democracy and social cohesion. What contribution should companies make to overcome polarization and strengthen civil engagement? And what is the added value for companies in engaging in democracy? Islam will present his research, and lead the panel discussions with a selected group of stakeholders that highlight both the normative and the business dimension of the topic at stake.
Participants
Rana Deep Islam is a management consultant for the public sector. Prior to his consulting career, he held positions in politics and civil society, including project manager at Stiftung Mercator, Bertelsmann Stiftung, and GIZ. Rana Deep Islam began his career at the European Parliament in Brussels and at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C.
Partner
This event is co-presented by the Goethe-Institut Washington D.C. and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.
Hannah Arendt’s Lessons for Our Times – On Exile & Solidarity
Thomas Mann House (1550 N San Remo Drive, CA 90272)
Language: English ・ By invitation only
Info
Arendt's oeuvre has inspired many to stand in solidarity against authoritarianism, racial or gender-based violence, climate change, and right-wing populism. Her highly acclaimed work is a common point of reference for reflecting on political challenges today. But what if a careful analysis of solidarity in her writing reveals a darker side to this intellectual legacy What if solidarity, as she conceives of it, was not oriented toward equality, freedom, or justice for all, but creates a barrier to intersectional coalition building?
David D. Kim’s newly published book Arendt's Solidarity: Anti-Semitism and Racism in the Atlantic World (Stanford University Press, 2024) examines Arendt's lifelong struggle with ‘solidarity’—a deceptively straightforward, yet complex concept. Following the arc of her forced migration across the Atlantic, Kim looks at this conceptual conundrum in relation to every major concern of hers: Christian neighborly love, friendship, Jewish assimilation, Zionism, National Socialism, the American republic, Black Power, revolution, violence, and the human world. In dialogue with dissenting voices such as Thomas Mann, Gershom Scholem, Jean-Paul Sartre, James Baldwin, among others, and drawing from Arendt's publications, unpublished documents, private letters, and other archival material, Kim offers a full-scale reinterpretation of her oeuvre.
Participants
David D. Kim is Professor in the Department of European Languages and Transcultural Studies at UCLA, Associate Vice Provost of the International Institute, and the Community Engagement Advisor for the Division of Humanities at UCLA.
