Next up in our Honours Student Interview Series is Laura Silveira. She completed the UBC Sciences Po Dual Degree program, which is a partnership between the University of British Columbia and l’Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po).
Scroll down to read through the complete interview and learn all about her honours thesis research and writing process.
What is the title of your honours thesis?
“From Carnations to Complications: Decolonization and Portuguese-Mozambican Relations (1975-1977)”
What interested you in this topic? Why did you choose it for your thesis?
Somewhat unexpectedly, my interest in this topic began in a philosophy course at SciencesPo, where I decided to dedicate my final essay to the Carnation Revolution. Until I started reading a bunch of literature on the subject for this essay, I had only encountered the dominant public narrative of the revolution as a peaceful transition to democracy. I was therefore struck by the gap between that narrative and the historical scholarship, which instead describes a period marked by intense political instability and the very real possibility of civil war. That discovery sent me down what quickly became a long-term research rabbit hole! As with most research projects, the focus of my thesis evolved significantly over time. With the guidance of my supervisor, Dr. David Morton, I approached the archival research without a narrowly defined question, driven instead by a broad interest in reintegrating decolonization into the history of the Carnation Revolution; a central but frequently sidelined aspect of the revolution (alongside democratisation). This openness led me to a wide range of archives and sources. My attention ultimately fell on the telegrams sent by Portuguese embassies in the former African colonies, in the early post-independence period. These documents vividly revealed how deeply intertwined the processes of democratisation and decolonization were, and they ultimately shaped the core argument of my thesis.
What was your favourite part of the research process?
My favourite part was when I began analysing my primary sources and clarifying the argument of the thesis. By that point, I had already completed the archival research, so my days were spent in the library reading through the documents and thinking carefully about what they revealed. I found this phase particularly intellectually stimulating, especially because I benefited from the support of an excellent supervisor who devoted a great deal of time to discussing and debating many aspects of the project with me. This period felt like a rare moment of intellectual freedom, situated between the pressure of conducting time-limited archival research over the summer and the later urgency of writing the thesis itself. It allowed me to step back and reflect on a crucial moment in Portuguese history and to trace how it manifested across a wide range of domains—aviation, education, health, and citizenship, among others. That breadth made the research process especially rich and rewarding. This said, reaching the completion of my project and submitting my thesis was also very satisfying!
Where do you hope to go next with your research or career?
After graduating from UBC in May 2025, I continued my academic journey at the University of Cambridge, where I am currently pursuing an MPhil in World History under the supervision of Professor Pedro Ramos Pinto, with full funding from Trinity College. Building on my honours thesis, my MPhil dissertation focuses more specifically on questions of citizenship during the Carnation Revolution. In particular, I am developing a bottom-up history of citizenship that examines how individuals navigated the blurred and often contested boundaries created by the Portuguese Nationality Law of June 1975. By centring everyday experiences and practices, the project aims to shed light on how citizenship was lived, negotiated, and understood during a moment of profound political transformation. I hope to expand this research into a PhD project, and I am currently awaiting responses from doctoral applications.
What advice would you give to someone who is excited but nervous about writing their honours thesis next year?
Choose a topic you genuinely care about and the curiosity will carry you through the harder moments! I’d also recommend surrounding yourself with a supportive group of friends, with whom you do regular library working sessions. Research and writing a thesis can be an isolating process, so being surrounded by good friends makes a huge difference. If you’re as lucky as me, you will have friends who regularly show up at the library with chocolate to share—once again, thank you, Milan!
Do you have a fun or anecdote you would like to share?
I’ve known I wanted to be a History Professor since I was 12—but if someone had told me back then that I’d end up researching Portugal and Portuguese history, I probably would have laughed and said, “No way!” And yet here I am, completely obsessed with it. Somehow, what seemed unlikely has become exactly where I feel I can make the most meaningful contribution to the scholarship.
