War and Science Fiction: Imagining Organized Mass Violence between Past, Present, and Future
Chapter: Unstuck in Genre: Slaughterhouse-Five and the Intersection of War and Science Fiction
- Contributor
- Editors
- Publisher
- Year
- ISBN
- Language
- Jessica Allen Hanssen
- Frank Jacob & Miriam Jensen Tveit
- Brill
- 2026
- 9783506798329
- English
Book Description
War and Science Fiction brings together 11 international scholars to explore the dynamic interplay between military conflict and speculative futures. Across different popular media (literature, film, and video games) this volume investigates how science fiction reflects, critiques, and even shapes our understanding of war. From imagined battlefields to cultural expressions of guilt and resistance, the essays span diverse popular media and global perspectives. Organized into four thematic sections, the book offers fresh insights into how science fiction envisions warfare, constructs enemies, and grapples with the ethics of technology. Therefore, this book is a vital resource for scholars of SF, history, and cultural studies.
Chapter Description
Unstuck in Genre: Slaughterhouse-Five and the Intersection of War and Science Fiction by Jessica Allen Hanssen
This chapter explores Kurt Vonnegut’s (1922–2007) relationship with science fiction (SF), using slipstream as a descriptive term to encompass
Slaughterhouse-Five’s (1967) genre-bending sensibilities. I will specifically
explore Slaughterhouse-Five’s origins, themes, non-linear narrative structure,
and engagement with other “genre fiction,” especially Valley of the Dolls (1966)
by Jacqueline Susann (1918–1974), in order to establish how the novel relates
to and derelates from common perceptions of both war and science fiction
in literary studies in order to create an urgent message of how (or whether)
meaning can arise from the postmodern condition.