The Advanced Research Fellowship
Advanced Research Fellowships are awarded annually for 3-month research stays at the Kierkegaard Library, during either the Fall or Spring semester. The fellowships are intended for scholars conducting advanced research on Kierkegaard, though individuals enrolled in graduate programs may also apply.
Research fellows gain access to the Kierkegaard Library’s resources and are invited into dialogue with the College’s community of scholars and students. Fellows are expected to maintain a regular presence at the Kierkegaard Library as well as to participate in local colloquia, workshops, and events. They are also encouraged to present their research during their stay and be available for possible guest lectures, meetings with students, and other community-building scholarly activities.
The fellowship provides up to $500/month toward housing (or free housing in the Kierkegaard House, depending on availability), plus a $1500/month stipend for living expenses. Recipients are responsible for paying taxes on their stipends and for any personal expenses, including travel. For international visitors, visa rules and regulations for funding apply.
Application Process
To apply:
Application materials are submitted via email to HKL@stolaf.edu. Please list “Advanced Research Fellowship” in the subject line.
Deadline for Spring 2026: June 1, 2025
Deadline for Fall 2026: December 1, 2025
Materials include:
- Curriculum Vitae
- 1–2 page (double-spaced) Research Project Proposal, including well-thought out research project, intended use of the Kierkegaard Library resources, research outcome (e.g., article or chapter), and clear statement of commitment to the Kierkegaard Library/St.Olaf community and plans for how to engage with it
- Names and contact information for 2 academic references
Please reach out with any questions to HKL@stolaf.edu.
Note for International Scholars:
ESTA and B-1 visas are the most commonly used governmental entry permissions for international visiting scholars at the Kierkegaard Library. Research stays on such visas will by law need to be limited to no more than 3 months. It is the responsibility of the applicant to research entry options and apply for the correct one. Please contact foreign travel officials within your home country for specific guidance.
We are deeply grateful for the Utech Endowment for making this program possible.
2024-2025 Fellows
Dr. Heiko Schulz (Spring 2025)
Heiko Schulz earned his Ph.D. from Bergische Universität Wuppertal, where he previously studied Philosophy and (Protestant) Theology. His areas of specialization include Modern Philosophy of Religion (esp. 20 th century), History of Theology (19 th century), and Kierkegaard. Prior to moving to Goethe-Universität Frankfurt, where he has been teaching Systematic Theology and Philosophy of Religion since 2009 he taught Systematic Theology at Universität Duisburg-Essen/ Campus Essen from 2002 to 2009. He is co-editor of Kierkegaard Studies Yearbook (KSYB), Kierkegaard Studies Monograph Series (KSMS), Deutsche Søren Kierkegaard Edition (DSKE), and Religion in Philosophy and Theology (RPT). He has translated, commented and published widely on Kierkegaard’s thought, yet in recent years his focus of interest has shifted to other topics (e.g., the problem of miracles) and thinkers as well (e.g., Michael Polanyi).
Previous Fellows
Presley Martins (Fall 2024)
Presley Martins, originally from Passa-Quatro, Brazil, has been dedicated to the study of Kierkegaard since his master’s studies and is currently continuing this research at the doctoral level. He has been affiliated with the Kierkegaard Research Centre at the University of Copenhagen and the Hong Kierkegaard Library at St. Olaf College as a KHF Fellow, where he resided in Northfield and conducted research from September 2023 to August 2024.
From September to December 2024, he pursued further research at the Kierkegaard Library as an Advanced Research Fellow. His scholarly work delves into Kierkegaard’s philosophical and theological concepts—specifically repetition, faith, love, and hope—and their intricate interrelationships. Additionally, he is examining the role of fictional language in literature as it pertains to Kierkegaard’s philosophy, with the perspective that this intersection is crucial to grasping the deeper nuances of Kierkegaard’s thought.
Dr. Maxwell Parlin (Fall 2024)
Maxwell Parlin joined us as an Advanced Research Fellow from October-December. His primary interests unite literature, philosophy, and religion: the Russian novel (especially Dostoevsky) and the Existentialist tradition (especially Kierkegaard). His current book project interprets Dostoevsky’s major fiction in light of Kierkegaard’s concepts. Before coming to St. Olaf, he received his PhD from Princeton University.
Malwina Tkacz (Spring 2024)
Malwina Tkacz is a PhD candidate at Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University, Warsaw. She holds a master’s degree in Law and a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from the University of Warsaw, both completed in 2020. She is also a graduate of the Warsaw British Law Centre. Her academic research focuses on philosophy of law, ethics, social thought, phenomenology, human rights and Christian existentialism. Malwina Tkacz is a poet and a singer-songwriter, and aspires to publish her first book.
Dr. Gordon Marino (Fall 2023)
Gordon Marino earned his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, M.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, and B.A. from Columbia University. His areas of specialization include History of Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion, and Kierkegaard. For 27 years he taught philosophy and related courses as a professor at St. Olaf College and was the curator of the Kierkegaard Library until his retirement in August 2022. In 2018, Marino published his most recent book, The Existentialist’s Survival Guide. He has authored and co-authored numerous works, including Kierkegaard in the Present Age. His articles have appeared in internationally-acclaimed news sources and periodicals such as the Atlantic Monthly, New York Times Magazine, Wall Street Journal, and the American Poetry Review.
Dr. David Heckerl (Spring 2023)
David Heckerl is an Associate Professor in the Department of English at Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. His particular interest in the deep psychology of personal upbuilding informs an array of research pursuits: Kierkegaard on anxiety and despair in relation to the aesthetic-spiritual disposition of American transcendentalism (Emerson, Emily Dickinson, Henry James); Kierkegaard on necessity and possibility in relation to D. W. Winnicott and Adam Phillips on childhood, creative play, and cultural experience; Kierkegaard on irony in relation to Jonathan Lear’s recent therapeutic promotion of ‘ironic experience.’
Dr. Daniel Watts (Spring 2023)
Daniel Watts gained his PhD in Philosophy from the University of Sheffield. He then took up a teaching post and a postdoctoral fellowship at Trinity College Dublin. He now teaches at the University of Essex. He was Co-Investigator on the interdisciplinary research project: ‘The Ethics of Powerlessness: the Theological Virtues Today’. His work has been published in top journals such as Mind, The European Journal of Philosophy, and Inquiry. He is the author of entries on Kierkegaard for Oxford Bibliographies and the Routledge Encyclopaedia of Philosophy. He is currently working on a monograph on Kierkegaard.
Dr. Myka Lahaie (Spring 2022)
Myka Lahaie earned a Ph.D. in theology from Durham University (2021). Her dissertation was entitled “Love, ‘Gift,’ and the Fragmentary Self: A Theological Engagement with Jean-Luc Marion and Søren Kierkegaard.” Myka’s research interests include Kierkegaard and the ‘new phenomenology’, as well as the contemporary relevance of Kierkegaard’s writings for theology.