1.0 video <p><strong>Bonnie Honig is one of the world’s foremost democratic theorists. Arnon Grunberg will engage in conversation with Honig about, among other topics, Hannah Arendt, shock politics, and democracy in disrepair.</strong></p><p>Bonnie Honig embodies the public intellectual like few others. With her funny and fine-edged essays analyzing Trump’s shock politics, the significance of <i>Stranger Things</i>’ popularity, and feminist resources for defending democracy. At the same time, she is one of the world’s foremost democratic theorists, combining sources as diverse as Nietzsche, Arendt, Rousseau, Lars von Trier, <i>12 Angry Men</i>, Antigone and gothic romance novels in her writings on democracy.</p><p>One of the major themes of her work is how contestation, rather than consensus, should be central in a democracy. She is a founding thinker of the agonistic democratic movement, driving its inspiration from the ancient Greek culture’s emphasis on the <i>agon</i>, for struggle. In recent work she explores how ‘public things’, like education, national parks and healthcare, are a precondition for democracy – but are often under pressure from privatization and neoliberalism.</p><p>Tonight, Honig enters into conversation with <strong>Arnon Grunberg</strong>. They will talk about public things, emergency and shock politics, her feminist interpretations of Hannah Arendt and democracy in disrepair. <strong>Bastiaan Rijpkema</strong>, who wrote an introduction to the first Dutch translation of one of Honig’s works: <i>Publieke dingen</i>, will introduce the evening.</p><p>Programme editor: Veronica Baas</p><p>In collaboration with Leiden University</p><p>This programme took place on February 6 2025.</p> https://vod.salto.nl/img/2025/08/11/6899b1154ddac80013f798d0_poster_1.png 1280 720 1280 720 <iframe src="https://vod.salto.nl/embed/75ZC78E6fmyOmWeC0sce0q" width="1280" height="720" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Salto Player https://vod.salto.nl