Kort præsentation

My research focuses on post-kantian European philosophy; especially the ethical, existential, and political aspects of the works of figures such as GWF Hegel, Søren Kierkegaard, Simone de Beauvoir, and Hannah Arendt. I also have an interest in feminist theory and aesthetics. Thematically, my work examines 19th and 20th century critiques of modernity and the modern subject, and how these critiques can shape our images of a political and ethical future. I look at how art, religion, and philosophy, respectively, have been conceived as cultural forces which could bring about social and political cohesion in the modern world. I have also worked on how concepts—such as sacrifice, confession, and forgiveness—are secularized in the moral discourse of enlightenment modernity.

From 2024-2026 I hold a full-time postdoc position in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Southampton: https://www.southampton.ac.uk/people/65c5gl/doctor-caecilie-varslev-pedersen

I teach and supervise topics within modern philosophy (nyere tids filosofi), 20th century continental philosophy, social and political philosophy, critical theory, existential philosophy, ethics, and aesthetics.

In the fall semester 2026, I teach three courses in English:

• Making of the Modern Self
• Kierkegaard's Authorship: On the Loss and Recovery of Meaning
• The Good Life: Philosophy of Existence from Kierkegaard to Beauvoir and Fanon 

CV

2026- Teaching Associate Professor, The Søren Kierkegaard Research Centre, University of Copenhagen

2024-2026 Postdoc, Department of Philosophy, University of Southampton

2022-2024 Teaching faculty, University of Copenhagen and DIS

2021 PhD in Philosophy, The New School for Social Research

2019 MPhil  Philosophy, The New School for Social Research

Parental Leave

2021-2022 and 2024-2025: 1 year and 6 months in total (after ph.d.) 

2025- Editor of Danish Yearbook of Philosophy

2022- Member of Censorkorpset for Filosofi/Board of external examiners in Philosophy

2020- Board Member of Søren Kierkegaard Society