From Text to Data: Gender and Ottoman Representations in Cervantes through Digital Humanities

Objective

Spain in the 16th century was undergoing a profound transformation in the construction of social, political, and religious identities. The most multicultural country in Europe, home to three religions and a unique cultural and ethnic diversity until the end of the 15th century, will be pushed towards a monolithic identity as a tool to cement the political power of the Crown. Cervantes was born in 1547, as Renaissance ideals of tolerance and cultural cross-fertilization were drowned in violence all over Europe. Nevertheless, the ideals of the past did not disappear overnight. Cervantes is an extraordinary example of the complexities and contradictions of his time: a heroic soldier in the campaigns against the Ottomans, a devout Catholic with suspected converso ancestry, his life is still shrouded in mystery and ambiguity. Despite the censorship and the vigilance of the Inquisition, he would manage to put forward very advanced and controversial ideas in his literary works, challenging the official narratives and imposed social values on identity and gender. This research will focus on how his relationship with the Ottoman world and the effect of his five years in captivity affected his literature. The analysis of the characters in his works, how he describes the other, the converted Christians and renegades, and his fellow captives, is very revealing of a compassionate humanity. Women are treated with particular respect and understanding, whether Christian or Muslim, capable of courageous deeds even in gendered spaces as the Ottoman harems. As well, the research compares his experience with Hindî Mahmud, who also chronicled the realities of captivity from the perspective of an Ottoman officer who fell into the hands of the Spaniards at Lepanto. The digital humanities aspect of the project is central. It will create an open-access platform collecting all Cervantes–Ottoman World materials. It will also include the digital Spanish edition of Mahmud’s text.