Bylaws of the Hannah Arendt Circle

BYLAWS OF THE HANNAH ARENDT CIRCLE

ARTICLE I: NAME AND PURPOSE

1. The name of this organization is the Hannah Arendt Circle.

2. The purpose of the Hannah Arendt Circle is to promote the study and critical discussion of the works of the German philosopher, Hannah Arendt (1906–1975).

ARTICLE II: MEMBERSHIP

1. Membership in the Hannah Arendt Circle is open to anyone interested in Hannah Arendt and the scholarship surrounding her work.

2. To become a member, one contacts the Chair. There are no dues required. ARTICLE III: CIRCLE CONFERENCES

1. The Hannah Arendt Circle shall hold an annual conference. This conference shall be timed in a way that avoids overlapping with the fall meeting of The Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy (SPEP).

2. The annual conference shall include a “business meeting” open to anyone who is attending the conference. The purpose of this meeting shall be to transact all business of importance to the Circle, including the election of “Host Institutions” and Conference Directors for future annual conferences. Other items of business that may emerge at these meetings include, but are not limited to, the following: 1) adopting or amending the Bylaws, and 2) electing new officers. All motions, except amendments to the Bylaws, shall be carried by majority vote of those present; amendments to the Bylaws shall require two-thirds vote of those present. The meeting shall be led by the Chair, and/or the Abstract Reviewer, or their named representative.

3. Arranging, advertising, managing, and selecting the program for the annual conference shall be the province of the Chair. The Chair is responsible for circulating the Circle’s CFA and the program. The Chair also assumes complete responsibility for arranging the financial support of the annual conference as a condition of nomination for election. Financial support may be drawn from the host institution, extramural sources, and in rare cases, reasonable conference registration fees.

ARTICLE IV: OFFICERS

1. The Officers of the Hannah Arendt Circle shall be: 1) the Chair, 2) the Abstract Reviewer, and 3) the Host.

2. The term of office for each position shall be one year. There is no limit to the number of terms a person may serve in either capacity.

3. If the office of Chair becomes vacant in mid-term, the Abstract Reviewer shall serve as the Acting Chair until the next business meeting of the Circle (where an election shall be held). Should the office of Abstract Reviewer become vacant, election of a new Abstract Reviewer shall occur at the next business meeting of the Circle.

4. The election of officers shall proceed as follows: a ballot of nominees for each office shall be created and voted upon by those present at the business meeting. Majority vote shall decide the election. The election process shall be overseen by the Chair and/or the Abstract Reviewer, or their named representative.

5. Elections for Chair and Abstract Reviewer shall be held the year prior to when the Conference will be held.

ARTICLE V: BOARD OF DIRECTORS

1. The Circle shall be served by a Board of Directors. This Board shall be composed of five members. Previous Conference Directors, as well as any other member appointed by the Chair in recognition of her/his sustained participation in the Circle, will be eligible to serve on the Board.

2. Directors shall serve primarily as advisors to the Officers regarding the business of the Circle between annual conferences.

3. In the unlikely event that both Officers are unable to fulfill their duties at the same time, the Directors shall vote one of their members to serve as the Acting Chair until service by one of the Officers resumes or until the election of new Officers.

4. The term for Directors shall be three years.

ARTICLE VI: ADOPTION AND AMENDMENTS

These Bylaws shall be amended by a vote of two-thirds of the membership present at a business meeting after being duly promulgated in advance of the meeting in an official Circle communication venue.