The year is 2014. Spain is still in the middle of an economic crisis that has sent more than 700,000 people abroad in search of jobs. With this presentation I aim to demonstrate the capacity that participatory culture and social networks (Baym, 2015 and Jenkins, Ito and Boyd 2016) have to build a bridge for those “dispossessed” (Butler and Athanasiou, 2013) by the economic crisis, allowing them to become agents of social change.  I will examine three modes of civilian participation, which are intertwined with the structure of the documentary: academic thought, artistic representation, and citizen mobilization. The identity of the post-crisis subject emerges from the combination of these three elements in a space that is initially perceived as a non-place (Augé, 1995) but that allows the formation of support networks that, ultimately, have the potential to effect the changes they are seeking.   

Dr. Esther Alarcòn-Arana  has a  M.A. in English, a M.A. in Hispanic studies, and a Ph.D. in Hispanic studies from the University of Pennsylvania.