Congratulations to Ophelia Nicole-Berva and Inés Gil Torras from the Department of Political and Social Sciences for receiving their doctorates in March 2025, after unanimous decisions from the jury.
On 10 March 2025, Ophelia Nicole-Berva successfully defended her thesis, Feeling the Border: Everyday Solidarity Activism at the Internal Borders of Europe. The thesis jury, composed by the supervisor, EUI Professor Jeff Checkel, co-supervisor, EUI Professor Martin Ruhs, Donatella Della Porta (Scuola Normale Superiore), and Kim Rygiel (Wilfrid Laurier University), was unanimous in praising the thesis as a theoretically creative, ethically reflexive, and empirically rich exploration of migrants, refugees, and the activists who seek to help them at the EU's internal (Schengen) borders. Ophelia's thesis will make important contributions to the literatures on social movements and borders, as well as to normative theorising on justice. The thesis is a model of how to conduct immersive, in-depth research on populations at risk in an ethically informed manner.
Read Ophelia Nicole-Berva’s thesis in Cadmus.
On 14 March 2025, Inés Gil Torras defended her thesis, Cultural legacies of pre-industrial family systems: household structure, family change, and values. Pre-industrial European family systems varied widely, from multigenerational households to nuclear families, and from primogeniture to equal inheritance. Inés' thesis explores their lasting influence. The first chapter examines the stem family system in Catalonia from the mid-19th to 20th century, revealing its persistence despite industrialisation, challenging nuclearisation theories. The second analyses cross-regional links between historical family structures and values, while the third investigates their influence on the spread of cohabitation in Europe. The findings show how pre-industrial family organisation continues to shape society in complex ways.
Read Inés Gil Torras’ thesis in Cadmus.