Frederika Tevebring is a lecturer in global cultures and interdisciplinary education at King’s College London.
More about this author
Frederika Tevebring is an intellectual historian interested in the ways that prehistory and antiquity have inspired artists and political thinkers. Her research on Eranos is part of a larger project about how the theory of ancient matriarchies became a central idea for socialists, fascists, and feminists in the first decades of the 20th century. Tevebring is a lecturer in global cultures and interdisciplinary education at King’s College London and served as the guest editor for a special issue on “Freud’s Archaeology” for American Imago. She holds a PhD in comparative literature from Northwestern University and an MA and BA in religious studies from the Freie Universität in Berlin.
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Forged Objects and Invented Worlds
Co-authors: Marisa Müsing | Toe Rag | May | 2025
In this meditative piece, the authors speculate on the interplay between artefacts, fantasy, and desire. They focus on three artefacts in particular: The Snake Goddess discovered in Crete in 1903, the Mother Goddesses from Hacılar discovered in Anatolia in the 1960s, and casts of the victims in Pompeii discovered in the 1870s.
British Academy | August | 2024
Since the beginning of the twentieth century, when prehistory was first studied seriously, interpretations of the meaning of prehistoric artefacts have been heavily influenced by contemporary culture and world events. In this context, the author also considers the significance of forgeries of prehistoric objects.
Co-authors: Hot Desque | Exhibition “Holding Cosmic Dust” | January | 2024
A reflection on the political power of art that is inspired by archaeology to invent pasts and imagine futures. It was written in conjunction with the exhibition “Holding Cosmic Dust” organised by artist duo Hot Desque at Corinium Museum, Cirencester.
The Matriarchal Subtext to Freud’s Archaeology
American Imago | 2021
Freud wrote in 1916 about a patient obsessed with imagining his father as headless, with a face on his belly. Freud linked this image to Baubo, a figure from ancient myth and Hellenistic figurines showing a grotesque female body. Freud was aware that the name Baubo was associated with a group of Hellenistic votive figurines discovered in 1906.
By comparing a modern family problem to ancient female imagery, Freud mixed psychoanalysis and archaeology. The essay argues this raises questions about gender, myth, science, and how Freud used “irrational,” feminine ideas to explain the past.
Publications by this author
A Conversation between Excavation and Analysis
Co-authors: Alexander Wolfson | Johns Hopkins Press | 2021
In this special edition of the journal American Imago. co-edited by Frederika Tevebring and Alexander Wolfson, authors consider Freud’s interest in antiquity and his self-described obsessive collecting of ancient artifacts. They speculate on how this interest influenced his research and writings.
Media by this author
Interview | August | 2020
Dr. Frederika Tevebring examines how modern nations see themselves as inheritors of ancient cultures and how today’s ideas about gender roles and cultural differences are projected onto ancient societies. She is especially interested in ancient artworks and archaeological figures that challenge traditional views of the past as logical, male-dominated, and dignified, highlighting figures linked to femininity and obscenity instead.
