Landscapes of Survival: The Politics of Emotions in the Aftermath of Neoliberal Crises Angela Duran Real A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Washington 2019 Reading Committee: Anthony Geist, Chair Kathleen Woodward Leigh Mercer Cynthia Steele Program Authorized to Offer Degree: Hispanic Studies ©Copyright 2019 Angela Duran Real University of Washington Abstract Landscapes of Survival: The Politics of Emotions in the Aftermath of Neoliberal Crises Angela Duran Real Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Professor Anthony Geist Spanish and Portuguese Landscapes of Survival is an investigation of the affective life of neoliberalism. It takes the financial crises of 2001 in Argentina and 2008 in Spain to argue that, while both events have precipitated circumstances inherent to all economic crises—unemployment, austerity, migration, increased poverty—, they have also disclosed that crisis, far from being an extraordinary event, is for most a quotidian experience. In so doing, this work as a whole proposes that attention to the cultural politics of emotions sheds light on the nature of crisis as an ongoing condition under neoliberal governance. This dissertation advances recent cultural analysis of neoliberalism in the field of transatlantic Peninsular and Latin American studies that often lack particular attention to the centrality of the politics of emotions in processes of signification and subjectification. Landscapes of Survival begins with an analysis of the documentaries Otro Destino (Argentina, 2003) and En tierra extraña (Spain, 2015) to explore the feeling of loss that structures the lives of young migrants whose life projects have been overturned by the crises. The project then moves on to examine love as a political emotion in the movements for justice and liberation that have opposed the politics of austerity. In this chapter, the focus is on the Movimiento de Trabajadores Desocupados and Empresas Recuperadas por sus Trabajadores (Argentina) and the Plataforma de Afectados por la Hipoteca (Spain). Landscapes of Survival ends with a discussion of the emergence of precarity as a structure of feeling by reading two post- financial crises novels, El trabajo (Aníbal Jarkowski, 2007) and La trabajadora (Elvira Navarro, 2014). The dissertation as a whole exposes that attention to the cultural politics of emotions in neoliberal societies is central to understanding not only how power works but also how power is resisted. To the memory of my parents Acknowledgments Landscapes of Survival has been a truly collaborative effort. And for that, I have many to thank. I wish to express my sincere gratitude to the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, which has provided me with the necessary funds to do this research in the midst of rocky times for doctoral education in the humanities. In particular, I have to thank my chair, Anthony Geist for being the absolute best mentor, the most fierce advocate of my work, and the friend I could count on when I needed it. Tony has not only given me the intellectual freedom I needed to develop my own ideas, he has cared for my well-being as a complex person with a life beyond graduate school. He has helped me navigate the difficulties of writing a dissertation while gently pushing me to always keep going, even when I doubted I could. He has believed in and supported my work as a public scholar, attentively listened to my professional plans outside of the academy, and validated them with respect and affection. Without Tony this work would not exist. I wish that someday I can be someone’s “Tony,” for we all know how much students need good mentors. I am also indebted to Leigh Mercer for all the times she has listened to my ideas, given me feedback, and encouraged me to be a bold thinker. Her fantastic observations about my work have greatly enhanced this project as well as my intellectual process. I would also like to thank Cynthia Steel who, when I contacted her after almost two years of non-communication, did not hesitate in offering me her unreserved support. I would need additional time to write about all the ways in which having Kathleen Woodward in my committee has shaped this project. Kathy has inspired Landscapes of Survival since the very beginning, for it was her microseminar on the emotions that laid the groundwork for the questions I have raised and for my methodological approach to answer them. She has also been a sharp, generous, and kind reader of my work, providing me with superb intellectual stimuli. For that, and for many other reasons, I will be forever grateful. I could not have done this work without the warmth and creative energy of my public scholarship community. Imagining America and PAGE have created the space for me to think big, to break the mold of what counts as intellectual work, and to blend theory and practice. During the years I was a PAGE co-director, I had the privilege to dream of more just and egalitarian worlds with my dear friends Kush Patel, Kira Pasquesi, Romo Almanza, Frances Lee, Gale Greenlee, and Lauren O’Brien. Dreaming about the impact of our labor in creating the world we want to live in has been the fuel that has kept me going through the long—and at times dark—road that grad school is. I owe so much to my friends and colleagues from Imagining America and PAGE for being a constant source of inspiration and support. I am also so very grateful to Alan-Michael Weatherford, my partner in crime for many of the community-engaged projects in which we have collaborated. Our work with University Beyond Bars has frequently been the highlight of my graduate education. I also have Sebastián López Vergara to thank for the sense of humor and lightness he has brought to the University Beyond Bar classes the three of us have taught together. When I moved to Seattle to pursue graduate education I did not know how much support I’d need to achieve this goal. I have been fortunate to share this journey with friends like Lise Lalonde, whose generosity and love have been essential during these past years; Céline Maillard, whose sense of humor and practicality have rescued me many times; and Sabrina Tatta, who besides being an amazing friend, makes the best cake and bread. I have shared frustrations, laughs, disappointments and lots of love with many others: Rocío Chueco Montilla, Julia de León, Belén, Laura, María, and Paloma have been the friends I needed when I needed them. Special thank you to my friends and editors, Annie Dwyer and Will Arighi, who have made my English sound beautiful while always encouraging me with their thoughtful comments. Finally my deepest love and thanks to my family, here and at the other side of the Atlantic. My brothers, Alfonso and Borja, and my aunts, Maite, Nati, and Pili never needed to fully understand what I was doing to always root for me. My niece, Mia, was born while I was working on my last chapter and her birth has inspired me in ways I cannot fully explain. I am so very grateful to my husband, partner, and friend, Joel Strom. He has believed in me, encouraged me, and patiently waited for me to finish. Without his unconditional support and love I simply could not have made it. He has also introduced me to the Stroms, who have become my family and community in Seattle. Kristine, Damon, Kaelyn, Curtis, and Truett Strom have cheered me up and brightened my days so many times. Audrey and Mark have nurtured me as one more of the family since the day they met me. Special thanks to Aunty Jan and Uncle Bill. With a generosity that is rare these days, they have welcomed us into their home so I could push through the last stage of the dissertation without having to worry about anything else. These final lines are indeed written from their home, which has felt like my own for the last few months. TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract Acknowledgments Introduction: The Crises of Neoliberalism 1 Chapter One: “Eres como un amor frustrado.” Migration and the Politics of Loss 24 Introduction: “Are they Leaving because of the Crisis?” 1.1. Migration as Loss 28 1.2. Identity, Migration, and Loss 34 1.3. Migration and Intergenerational Loss 53 1.4. Epilogue 64 Chapter Two: Of Miracles and Wonders 69 Introduction: From Economic Sensation to Social Catastrophe 1.1. Reclaiming Dignity, Resisting Neoliberalism 74 1.2. Dignity, Autonomy, and Freedom in Movements for Justice and Liberation. Argentina 83 1.3. Dignity, Autonomy, and Freedom in Movements for Justice and Liberation. Spain 93 1.4. Feeling Love, Feeling Dignity: Decolonizing Love 103 1.5. A New Love for a New Culture 115 Chapter Three: “Precarious Adrift:” Post-Fordism, Affect, and the Lived Experience of the Precariat 130 Introduction: Precarity and Precariousness 1.1. Precarity, Female Vulnerability, and Gender Violence in Aníbal Jarkowski’s El trabajo 139 1.2. Precarity and Mental Ailments in Elisa Navarro’s La trabajadora 152 1.3. Epilogue 165 Afterword: Sonder and Liget or the Power of Feeling 166 Bibliography 172 “Y he aquí”, termina Sir Gielgud, “que de pronto nuestro barco ya no nos pareció la embajada itinerante de un país maravilloso, sino la isla a la deriva en que cumplíamos el destierro de un país que ya no existía más”. Leopoldo Brizuela Survival in the present of an ordinary collective life suffused with a historic and historical crisis to which we are always catching up is the way we live now. Lauren Berlant Introduction: The Crises of Neoliberalism In the 27 September 2019 issue of the progressive Argentinean newspaper Página12, Paz-Rudy’s cartoon satirically depicts Argentina’s ongoing relationship of dependence on the IMF [fig.