“El retorno”: Female exiles back in Spain

Por Mauricio Escobar Deras

Instituto de Inmigración, Universidad de Granada

Idea Congreso Internacional Territorios Digitales 2017 Ciencias Sociales Digitales

This research project plans to use the Web to get online unpublished historical sources on a little discussed subject: the return of the Spanish Republican exile, mainly unknown, and is based on one of the pillars of Science 2.0 where citizens themselves, actively provide data and become part of the scientific production. Lending their voices and collective understanding to a particular topic.

From a methodological perspective, I will analyze in detail the use of digital humanities’ principles for data collection and the historiographical potential of the obtained unpublished sources; whereas, from a historical point of view, the study of the collected data will give an insight into arguments such as motivation, planning and impact of the return, all the while focusing on the gender issue of women; many of which came from the various countries where they were exiled in.

Objectives

  • Rebuild individual path of exile and return using online tools to dynamically display their individual trajectories.
  • Thus eventually, my research will be extrapolated and reformatted so that the findings are pared with separate online tool for visitors to see and use.
  • Historically analyze the effects and outcomes of the return back to Spain by returnees.
  • I will conduct research to validate and further asses the outcomes and conditions of said returnees, looking at various markers of success from jobs, housing and familial reproductions.
  • Share, distribute and create a collaborative process, where new details and individuals can share their voices.
  • My findings will go back into the Exiliad@s project to further foster discussion and future research opportunities pertaining to the gender based differences found in returnees.

This research hopes to bridge the vast amounts of historical data in various individuals via the Internet and piece together their motivation for returning to Spain as well as actually detailing the reality in which they returned to and what eventually became of them as individuals.

“El retorno”: Female exiles back in Spain