When the Literary Mutates and the Digital Emboldens: Transformations in Spanish Electronic Literature of the 21st Century By © 2017 Rafael Valadez Submitted to the graduate degree program in Spanish and Portuguese and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Chair: Dr. Margot Versteeg Co-Chair: Dr. Jorge Pérez Dr. Robert E. Bayliss Dr. Verónica Garibotto Dr. Marta Vicente Date Defended: 15 September 2017 The dissertation committee for Rafael Valadez certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: When the Literary Mutates and the Digital Emboldens: Transformations in Spanish Electronic Literature of the 21st Century Chair: Dr. Margot Versteeg Co-Chair: Dr. Jorge Pérez Date Approved: 15 September 2017 ii Abstract My dissertation analyzes Spanish-language electronic literature from Spain produced using new media technologies over the last 20 years. It more specifically looks at blogs, hypertext novels, hybrid publications that use digital codes needing scanning, and authorship. This project argues that new media technologies are exerting agency on both the physical and cyber world by affecting how literary texts are produced, presented to the reader, and embedded into everyday life. To achieve this, I propose looking at electronic texts through an Actor Network Theory approach as presented by John Law that treats all actors as interacting with various elements, both human and non-human, to create meaning. Supporting this approach is a combination of cyber-ecological and queer methodology that treats digital elements as having agency. In particular, I engage with scholars Stacy Alaimo and Jane Bennett to show that new technology has enabled the formation and visibility of original forms of literary and cultural expression through social media and traditional publishing avenues. Thus, the environment of digital works must be incorporated into any interpretation of the text as a whole. I employ this approach to better analyze a growing presence of individuals, cyber- intellectuals, engaged in social justice causes related to women’s, LGBT, and human rights who are able to network online via blogs and in the physical world to advance their activism. The analysis on hypertext novels provides a more complete understanding of the assemblages that construct meaning in digital works. Hybrid projects, where the content is partially in print and partially available on the Internet, serve to address the convergences of the digital and the physical worlds. Convergences such as these are also impacting the role of authorship in the production of texts in 21st century Spain. Digital components have become a part of everyday life and, subsequently, demand our attention as scholars in order to understand technology’s role in literature and, by extension, society and our lives. iii Acknowledgements For a project that is anchored on environments and the larger mesh of connections, I want to acknowledge the broader groups of individuals and communities within both academic and personal spheres that often overlap and coexist. I would like to thank the faculty, graduate students, and many other individuals affiliated with the Departments of Spanish and Portuguese and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. The academic openness and the camaraderie in both departments at The University of Kansas have made me a better scholar. Individually, I would like to first and foremost acknowledge Dr. Jorge Pérez and his unwavering support and patient advice over the years. His guidance, friendship, and leadership have made this project and the doctoral program at The University of Kansas an enjoyable experience. His mentorship has been invaluable and key to this project’s success. He is a role model I can look up to for years to come. I am extremely grateful to Dr. Margot Versteeg for her thoughtful reading and poignant interjections on the work I have completed. Her comments, suggestions, and questions have allowed me to engage my work in a better and more critical manner. A special thank you to Dr. Marta Vicente not only for agreeing to be a committee member, but, also, for allowing me to engage with some of the topics presented in this project while I was a student in her seminars. I would also like to recognize committee members Dr. Robert E. Bayliss and Dr. Verónica Garibotto for their generous participation and feedback. Lastly, but just as notably, thank you to my family: the family I was born into and the one I have carved out over the years. In particular, thank you to mom, dad, Fabiola, Olivia, Stephanie, Julia, Bryan, Michael, and Armando. Gracias. iv Table of Contents INTRODUCTION: BUILDING CONNECTIONS, ESTABLISHING LINKS ..................... 1 ELECTRONIC LITERATURE: A DEFINITION OF SORTS ................................................................... 9 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS – THE INTERNET AND ACCESSIBILITY IN CONTEMPORARY SPAIN 14 DIGITAL CONVERGENCES AND A CALL FOR MORE LINKING ...................................................... 17 RISING INTEREST IN THE DIGITAL AND AN ISSUE WITH LITERARY GENERATIONS ...................... 21 AN EVOLVING FRAMEWORK ...................................................................................................... 33 E-SCAPES, ALL THINGS MATTER, AND ENVIRONMENTAL AGENCY ............................................ 34 QUEER: IDENTITY POLITICS AND METHODOLOGY ..................................................................... 42 THIS PROJECT’S CHAPTERS ........................................................................................................ 47 CHAPTER 1: EMERGING NETWORKS, ACTIVE BLOGGERS, AND 21ST CENTURY PUBLIC INTELLECTUALS .................................................................................................... 59 ZAFRA’S NETIANA, AN HEIR TO HARAWAY’S CYBORG ............................................................... 67 QUEER ACTIVISM AND BLOGGING ............................................................................................. 74 AN EARLY BLOG WITH A LASTING IMPACT: SÁEZ’ HARTZA ...................................................... 79 APPLES, ARITHMETIC, AND THE BIRTH OF A BLOG .................................................................... 87 ENGAGING THE PUBLIC AT A MORE CRITICAL LEVEL ................................................................. 93 KIKA FUMERO: THE REBEL ........................................................................................................ 97 CONCLUSIONS: BEYOND CONNECTING AND NETWORKING ...................................................... 104 CHAPTER 2: SPANISH HYPERTEXT NOVELS: NAVIGATING CONTAINED DISTRACTIONS ...................................................................................................................... 111 EARLY CONCEPTS OF FUTURE WRITING .................................................................................. 116 ORIGINS AND POSSIBILITIES: THE CASE OF TWO SPANISH HYPERTEXTS ................................. 118 SAFEGUARDING ELECTRONIC WORKS WHILE ESTABLISHING AN ELITE GROUP ...................... 121 AGENCY WITHIN HYPERTEXT .................................................................................................. 125 LANDOW’S HYPERTEXTUAL IDEAS IN SPAIN ............................................................................ 128 CHECA’S HYPERTEXT: INTERTEXTUAL RELATIONSHIPS .......................................................... 132 HYPERMEDIA OR WEBNOVELA: THE BLURRING OF BORDERS ................................................... 140 THE FUTURE IS WRITTEN IN HYPERTEXT ................................................................................. 148 CHAPTER 3: SCANNING THROUGH NEW FUSIONS: HOW NEW TECHNOLOGY HYBRIDIZED PUBLICATIONS AND PUBLIC SPACES ................................................. 152 A NOTE ON HYBRIDITY ............................................................................................................ 159 HYBRID LIVES, HYBRID EXPERIENCES ..................................................................................... 161 SCANNING: IN SEARCH OF FREEDOM, CREATING AWARENESS ................................................ 164 SCANNING: WHEN BORDERS DISSIPATE, WHAT IS REAL? ....................................................... 176 SCANNING: THROUGH THE CITY .............................................................................................. 186 A HYBRID IMMEDIATE FUTURE ............................................................................................... 189 v CHAPTER 4: THE AUTHOR IS DEAD, LONG LIVE THE AUTHOR: HOW TECHNOLOGY RECONFIGURED AUTHORSHIP .......................................................... 195 THE NEW DYNAMICS ............................................................................................................... 196 THE MODERN AUTHOR ............................................................................................................ 199 INTO THE DIGITAL ................................................................................................................... 207 THE “AUTHORS” ...................................................................................................................... 209 MARA’S EXPANDING UNIVERSE: A CHARACTER’S TRAVERSE INTO AUTHORSHIP .................. 214 LOLA VAN GUARDIA: MORE THAN A PSEUDONYM AND NOT QUITE A HETERONYM ............... 224 DYNAMIC COLLABORATION TO THE FOREFRONT ....................................................................