Borges And New Media: Connections Via Heterotopic Spaces

Abstract

Borges' short stories such as "The Aleph" and "The Garden of Forking Paths" were uncanny in their foreshadowing of hypertext and internet developments in the 1990's. His work was often credited as inspiration for various projects striving to make use of these "new" technologies in creative ways. These projects include, for example, Stuart Moulthrop's seminal Storyspace work, "Forking Paths," and a MyStory project called, "Borges Fetishization," based on Greg Ulmer's theories of Electracy. The connection between Borges' situations and web-based projects such as these can be further developed through an examination of heterotopic space. The heterotopias found in Borges' work and in the new media projects are critically important and underexplored elements of the work. This thesis will explore the types of heterotopic spaces within Borges' texts, their significance within the text, the underlying political implications, and the subsequent influence they had on a selection of significant New Media theories.