De Mentes, Entes Y Dementes: Un Repaso Histórico-Crítico De La Ciencia Ficción Hispanoamericana

DE MENTES, ENTES Y DEMENTES: UN REPASO HISTÓRICO-CRÍTICO DE LA CIENCIA FICCIÓN HISPANOAMERICANA. Desde sus orígenes hasta nuestro días (1870-2013) by Nelson Darío González A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Spanish and Portuguese University of Toronto © Copyright by Nelson Darío González 2014 González ii DE MENTES, ENTES Y DEMENTES: Critical and Historical Review of Spanish-American Science Fiction (1870-2013) Nelson Darío González Doctor of Philosophy Department of Spanish and Portuguese University of Toronto 2014 Abstract This thesis has two main objectives. On the one hand, it is a historical and critical study of Spanish-American science fiction; on the other, it shows that the Cartesian mind-body dualism is the leading epistemological foundation of this literature. This research and the literary works examined also reveal the increasing ideological validity of biomedicine and brain studies in our understanding of human nature. A substantial number of short stories and novels by famous as well as unknown authors is examined. Ultimately, this thesis shows that Spanish-American science fiction has not only been written since the late 19th century, but that it also has intensively (although unevenly) developed since the second part of the twentieth century. The invisibility of these literary works is explained by the contradicting place of enunciation associated with all the Spanish-American science fiction writers. That is, this thesis considers the fact that science fiction written in “underdeveloped” societies has been regarded as a cultural contradiction. González iii Supplementary Abstract This dissertation encompasses a historical and critical account of Spanish-American science fiction (1870-2013). The chronological analysis provides a comprehensive understanding of the cognitive intricacies of this literature, which has often been viewed by Latin Americans as foreign or inauthentic literary production, and which has until recently been relegated to the margins within scholarly circles. In contrast, this research shows that Spanish-American science fiction has not only been written since the late 19th century, it has been intensively (although unevenly) developed during the second part of the twentieth century, even flourishing at specific moments in countries such as Argentina, Cuba, and México. Consequently, against the grain of traditional literary scholarship, this dissertation vindicates the value of this marginalized genre. The peripheral position it has occupied in relation to the dominant literary canon is even more radical in Spanish America than in other regions such as Great Britain or North America. Therefore, the marginality that has characterized this genre has enabled Spanish-American writers to explore controversial subjects with more freedom than that afforded to authors of more accepted (or more traditional) genres. By seemingly referring to “other worlds”, these texts subvert the censors’ excessive control, thus allowing the texts to explore a vast range of religious, social, and scientific alternatives. However, science fiction’s marginality has also condemned the distribution and reception of most of these works to small audiences. The Cartesian mind-body dualism is the main underlying philosophical presumptions shared by this singular literature. In consequence, this dissertation adds a chief analytical component to the historical overview of Spanish-American science fiction: it analyses how the mind-body dualism has been explored in these literary works and, more precisely, how the brain has come to take such a prominent position in their understanding of the human condition. Considering that science fiction is resolved by the dialectic between estrangement and cognition (Darko Suvin), this literary genre is concretized within a cognitive continuum that reaches the reader’s world. Put differently, this dissertation determines some concrete scientific and technological ideas engaged in the production of these texts, and evaluates the role of neurosciences. Consequently, this research fills a gap by bridging the current historical, critical, and theoretical perspectives in the field. In the brief history of Spanish-American science fiction González iv as an academic subject of study, scholarship has rapidly grown into a relevant space of research over a short period of time. In order to contextualize the marginality of this literature, five agents of its distribution and consumption are identified, listed, and examined, namely writers, magazines, anthologies, literary competitions, and fandom. The invisibility of these literary works is thus explained by the contradicting place of enunciation associated with all the Spanish-American science fiction writers examined. In brief, their aspiration to envisage new and modern technologies is marked by the prevalent notion that these authors come from “underdeveloped” societies. Therefore, within the Spanish-American literary critical tradition, these writers have been regarded as cultural contradictions, either as Calibans who believe they are Prosperos or as Prosperos who serve as Calibans. Because of the objections that challenge their real existence and literary quality, much of this literary production has been overlooked or judged to be fantastic (but not science fiction). Some of the writers themselves resist being associated with science fiction, despite the fact that their works display traits consistent with the genre. Consequently, many of these authors (and most of the publishers) can be considered science fiction renegades. Some of Jorge Luis Borges’ (1899-1986) short stories illustrate this dilemma, in particular “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius” (1940). The inventiveness that distinguishes this and other works provides us with a lens from which to reflect on the Spanish-American cultural experience in an increasingly globalized world. Consequently, this dissertation relates the studied texts to three different cultural spheres that are indicative of the Spanish-American experience: the scientific, the religious, and the technological. According to Martin Heidegger, science and technology inform the terms by which humanity conceives of events in nature and by which it makes sense of both its surroundings and the wider world. Not only has science provided humanity with ideas and technological advances, it has also shaped knowledge in certain modes of understanding that dictate how the world can and should be comprehended. These modes of understanding, notwithstanding the globalization of industry and information, are not uniform given that our experience and contact with the scientific and technological spheres vary. In essence, this dissertation is based on this assertion that science and technology inform our worldly perspective. As such, Spanish-American science fiction is an excellent vantage point from which to evaluate the diverse relationships established by the Spanish- American imaginary González v when faced with technological, scientific, and social challenges. Secularism, for instance, is far less popular in Latin America than in Europe or in North America. Additionally, scientific and technological developments generally arise in the so-called “first world” countries and are sometimes seen as foreign efforts to undermine local values. Likewise, some of the developments end up adopting Spanish-American orientations; that is, they are interpreted in ways that were not originally intended as they mingle with political, religious and folkloric traditions. As a result, these texts are an ideal way to explore how religious and scientific accounts of the world interact, clash, impact and influence each other. For example, Nicaraguan Ruben Darío’s (1867-1916) “Veronica” (1895) and Mexican Juan José Arreola’s (1918-2001) "Truly I say to you” (1952) are fictional accounts of technological devices —an x-ray and a laser machine respectively— used to solve religious matters: while one deals with a Host, the other intends to disintegrate the rich, so they can “go through the eye of a needle [and hence] enter the kingdom of God," thereby overcoming a well-known biblical admonition. Thus, this literary production has repeatedly served in Spanish America as a channel for many that challenge the ideological status quo. In addition, the psychological concept of ‘cognitive dissonance’ is employed to explain these texts’ ambivalent positioning on technological and scientific matters. The more this literature appears to be enthusiastic about ideas in these domains, the more these very same notions are feared or overlooked. As a result, when Spanish-American science fiction deals with extraordinary inventions, it tends to exclude concrete descriptions or explanations of them. Portrayals of technology in these fictions are displaced by its consequences. It is as if technology’s materiality were displaced by its spirituality. As a renowned example, Argentine Adolfo Bioy Casares’ (1914-99) The Invention of Morel (1940) can be pointed out. The protagonist runs into an exceptional machine that records three-dimensional images, voices, and scents, making it all indistinguishable from reality. However, this machine is barely detailed; the narrator justifies the vagueness by saying that he himself does not understand what he sees. Thus, as in this novel, Spanish American science fiction constantly looks up to what it fears. The concept of ‘cognitive dissonance’ is also applied to reveal

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