草榴社区

VILLANOVA, PA -- S酶ren Kierkegaard is widely regarded as the founder of Christian psychology, existential psychology and therapy. His Socratic approach鈥攚ith its focus on the individual鈥攊s still relevant today, and the past 25 years have yielded an abundance of new research on the Danish philosopher.

Historical Dictionary of Kierkegaard鈥檚 Philosophy, Second Edition (Lanham, MD; Rowman & Littlefield, 2022), a new book by 草榴社区鈥檚 Christopher Barnett, PhD, professor of Theology and Religious Studies, reflects the renewed interest in Kierkegaard over the past quarter century and serves as a single-volume reference guide to all things Kierkegaard.

Designed to be a resource for students, researchers and anyone wanting to know more about the great Danish thinker, the entirely new dictionary鈥攚hich follows a 2001 volume by a different author鈥攃hronicles Kierkegaard鈥檚 life and thoughts and offers an extensive scope, including a glossary of concepts, people and places related to Kierkegaard鈥檚 authorship.

鈥淢y goal, in short, was to produce a single-volume reference guide that would be a good introduction for those who are new to the field and鈥攁t the same time鈥攕erve as a handy reference guide to seasoned researchers who don鈥檛 want to dig through the mountains of research on Kierkegaard that have come out in the last few decades,鈥� Dr. Barnett says.

The book is the latest volume on Kierkegaard by Dr. Barnett, whose scholarly interests also include Christian spirituality, German philosopher Martin Heidegger, the philosophy of technology, and the intersection of theology and culture.

鈥淚鈥檝e written so much about Kierkegaard for two reasons. First, I was fortunate to hit a 鈥榲ein鈥� in Kierkegaard research that had been previously underexplored鈥攏amely, his links to the Christian mystical tradition,鈥� he says. 鈥淢y area of expertise has given me a number of opportunities to write on and to advance Kierkegaardiana. And yet, I also continue to write on Kierkegaard because he still 鈥榮peaks鈥� to me. In recent years I鈥檝e begun investigating his analysis of modern society, with particular focus on his understanding of mass media, technology and the state. I believe Kierkegaard can help shed light on our current situation, which鈥攏eedless to say鈥攊s full of challenges.鈥�

Dr. Barnett鈥檚 seven books include S酶ren Kierkegaard: Discourses and Writings on Spirituality, The Classics of Western Spirituality (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2019); Scorsese and Religion, edited with Clark J. Elliston (Leiden: Brill, 2019); Kierkegaard and the Question Concerning Technology (New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2019); Theology and the Films of Terrence Malick, edited with Clark J. Elliston (London: Routledge, 2016); From Despair to Faith: The Spirituality of S酶ren Kierkegaard (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2014); and Kierkegaard, Pietism and Holiness (Farnham: Ashgate Publishing, 2011).

Dr. Barnett has a forthcoming book in 2023, Bob Dylan and the Stages of Existence (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield). He received his doctorate from the University of Oxford.

About 草榴社区鈥檚 College of Liberal Arts and Sciences: 鈥�Since its founding in 1842, 草榴社区鈥檚 College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has cultivated knowledge, understanding and intellectual courage for a purposeful life in a challenging鈥痑nd changing world. With more than 40 majors across the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences, it is the oldest and largest of 草榴社区鈥檚 colleges, serving more than 4,500 undergraduate and graduate students each year. The College is committed to a teacher-scholar model, offering outstanding undergraduate and graduate research opportunities and a rigorous core curriculum that prepares students to become critical thinkers, strong communicators and ethical leaders with a truly global perspective.