A tuition free summer school by the University of the Underground with the collaboration, support and help from The Hannah Arendt Center for Politics and Humanities at Bard College, Overthrown Boxing Club, The School for Poetic Computation, UNICEF and UN Global Compact

Context:

‘To act is to begin something new, that is action’ said Hannah Arendt, one of the greatest, controversial thinkers and political theorist of all time who passed away in 1975. Amongst many others, she coined the concept of the ‘banality of evil’ while identifying the mechanics of totalitarianism regimes in her book The Origins of Totalitarianism.

‘POST-NATION STATES’, a 4-week long summer tuition-free summer school programme in New York City, takes inspiration from Hannah Arendt and her urge to develop platforms for pluralistic thinking in our contemporary societies which are seeing a resurgence in authoritarian regimes. In this summer school, the university known as the ‘University of the Underground’ in collaboration with the Hannah Arendt Center at Bard College with support from Overthrown Boxing Club, The School for Poetic Computation, UNICEF and UN Global Compact, invite 15 international activists, magicians, philosophers, musicians, visionaries, nightlife artists, community supporters and makers of worlds to develop, write, design, and perform reenactments on the history of the United Nations (i.e. the establishment of nation- states) as a means to reveal power structures and histories and to offer a reflection on politics.

At the start of their investigation, participants are tasked to use sports, poetry, music and dramaturgy, the architecture of diplomacy, voguing and independent publishing as sources of inspiration. Their final performances and experiences will be presented to diplomats themselves.

Through their interventions, participants will bring new perspectives and reflections to bear on the past, present and future of the United Nations as they will be visiting the nerve centre of international affairs. The goal being to activate new models for politics using theatrical, musical, and other experiential practices as a means to achieve this.