Thomas Mann Fellows 2026
by VATMH Berlin
We are excited to announce the newly selected Thomas Mann Fellows for 2026. During their stays, the fellows will work on projects related to the annual theme “In Search of a Common Cause” in exchange with US cultural professionals, scholars, and the public. They will address the question of how concepts of solidarity can be conceived in the 21st century in the face of seemingly conflicting identities, groups, and geopolitical alliances.
The following eight fellows have been nominated for residencies in 2026 by the independent advisory board of the Thomas Mann House: Professor Patricia Hein, journalist and author Morgane Llanque, professor and entrepreneur Miriam Meckel, editor Evein Obulor, Director for Europe and Russia at the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) Grégoire Roos, Professor Michael Seewald, author and journalist Düzen Tekkal, and editor Kia Vahland.
During their fellowships, the fellows will address the following topics:
During her fellowship, Patricia Hein will examine the socio-political engagement of high-net-worth individuals, for example in movements such as taxmenow (Europe) or Patriotic Millionaires (USA). The focus of the study will be on the motives and effects of this engagement.
Morgane Llanque will examine contemporary intersectional alliances in the US, including interethnic, queer-feminist, and environmental initiatives that draw on the values of the Rainbow Coalition founded by Fred Hampton in 1969. Her focus will be on intersectional resistance that advocates for a more just society in the US and unites rather than divides.
During her stay at the Thomas Mann House, Miriam Meckel will explore how AI can be used to strengthen democracy. In cooperation with representatives from the fields of technology and science, she aims to lay the foundations for citizen dialogues moderated and analyzed by AI.
During her fellowship, Evein Obulor will examine how cities can avoid marginalizing grief and instead understand it as a social practice that forms the basis for the search for new forms of coexistence. In dialogue with experts, NGOs, and local actors in LA, she wants to explore how we can understand grief work as a prerequisite for urgently needed social transformation.
Grégoire Roos will examine the transformative impact of coalitions of public, private, and philanthropic actors. These public-private-philanthropic partnerships (PPPs) are relatively advanced in the US, particularly in California. His focus is on the possibilities of shaping a political discourse based on science and art.
Michael Seewald will examine the changing attitude of US Catholicism toward a liberal social order. He explores the question of whether theology has the power to shape the church and society, or whether it is merely a variable dependent on political convictions that adapts to changing ideological forms.
During her time in Los Angeles, Düzen Tekkal will explore how democracies can defend their values against extremism and misanthropy, based on her work on the genocide of the Yazidis. In dialogue with leading experts on human rights and democracy work, she aims to promote transatlantic approaches to remembrance culture, values education, and extremism prevention.
Kia Vahland will use her fellowship to investigate which museum concepts promote community building and do justice to diverse historical traditions and a tense present, and what lessons can be learned from this for the future. She is interested in the key role played by museums, memorial sites, and world heritage sites as places of high credibility.
As a result of the devastating Palisades fire in early 2025, some fellows from 2025 will also be catching up on their fellowships in 2026.
The selection of fellows for 2026 was made by the independent advisory board of the Thomas Mann House: Dr. Cathleen Fisher (political scientist), Alice Hasters (author and former Thomas Mann Fellow), Esra Küçük (chair of the Allianz Foundation), Georg Mascolo (journalist and publicist), Dr. Michaela Muylkens (member of the board of the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation), Prof. Dr. Bernhard Pörksen (media scientist and former Thomas Mann Fellow), Alex Ross (journalist, The New Yorker, member of the TMH US Advisory Board), and Prof. Dr. Bernhard Schölkopf (computer scientist and former Thomas Mann Honorary Fellow).
The residencies are financed by the Berthold Leibinger Stiftung, the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach-Stiftung, and the Federal Foreign Office. Villa Aurora & Thomas Mann House is funded by the Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, and the Goethe-Institut.
Villa Aurora & Thomas Mann House e. V. is an independent, non-partisan organization of the Federal Republic of Germany that promotes intellectual and cultural exchange between Germany and the United States of America. The non-profit association awards scholarships at the two residences, Villa Aurora and Thomas Mann House, in Pacific Palisades, a district of Los Angeles in the US state of California, and organizes cultural programs in the United States and Germany. It keeps alive the memory of European exile history in California, conveys a contemporary, diverse image of Germany, and facilitates joint reflection on social, cultural, and political challenges.