Ute Frevert

Ute Frevert is Emeritus Director of the Center for the History of Emotions at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and Honorary Professor at Freie Universität Berlin. She previously held professorships at Yale University, Universität Bielefeld, and Universität Konstanz. Her pioneering research examines emotions in modern social, political, and gender history through interdisciplinary frameworks.

Frevert's work explores how emotions shape historical phenomena across domains including war, law, labor, and gender relations. Current projects investigate emotional dimensions of democracy, national identity, and political institutions using comparative historical analysis.

Her publications demonstrate sustained engagement with affective economies in German/European history, with recent work examining constitutional sentiments, democratic disillusionment, and feminist historiography. Methodological innovation characterizes her analysis of diaries, media, and institutional archives.

Major honors include:

• Sigmund-Freud-Preis für wissenschaftliche Prosa (2020)
• Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (2016)
• Leibniz Award (1998)

Professional leadership includes presidency of the Max Weber Foundation and membership in multiple national academies. She has directed international collaborations on moral economies and emotional lexicons, advancing global historiographical dialogue.