Abstract

The idea of revolution profoundly shaped contemporary history, influencing expectations, memories, and social dynamics on a global scale. Among historians, it is common to delimit this period by the rise and fall of the idea of revolution, from the French Revolution of 1789 to the collapse of the USSR in 1991. This project aims to investigate the meanings and frequency of the term "revolution/revolutions" in Portuguese parliamentary debates between 1821 and 2024, contributing to a conceptual history within Portuguese political culture. Based on the assumption that discourses reflect and construct reality, interventions in Portugal's main parliamentary bodies will be analyzed, using data from the digital archive of the Assembleia da República. The study combines quantitative and qualitative methods, integrating Digital Humanities, Data Science, and Intellectual History. Preliminary data indicate 20,514 occurrences of the term in parliamentary speeches since the constitutional monarchy, with half of these occurring after the April 1974 Revolution, which will receive special attention in the project. The analysis will identify continuities and ruptures in Portuguese political culture across different regimes, situating the April Revolution within a broader trajectory connected to transnational and imperial dynamics. Expected outcomes include two books and a digital map on contemporary revolutions, fostering new perspectives on the memory and historicity of the 1974 Revolution.

Team

Ana Drago (CES – UC), Miguel Cardina (CES – UC)

Bruno Damásio (NOVA IMS)

Daniel Alves (IHC - NOVA FCSH / IN2PAST)

Diego Palacios Cerezales (Universidad Complutense de Madrid)

Goffredo Adinolfi (CIES – Iscte)

Joana Dias Pereira (IHC - NOVA FCSH / IN2PAST)

José Miguel Ferreira (IHC - NOVA FCSH / IN2PAST)

José Neves (IHC - NOVA FCSH / IN2PAST)

Paulo Silveira e Sousa (CHAM – NOVA FCSH)

Rita Luís (IHC - NOVA FCSH / IN2PAST)

Tiago Fernandes (CEI – Iscte)