Abstract
In this article, we offer an explanation of steampunk and theorize the genre and its functions within Scott Westerfeld’s YA series Leviathan. In order to do so, we examine the “cogs” of the genre machine and its use of nostalgic longing for a revised past/future to rebel against present day cultural norms. Critics note that steampunk takes an historical past and either reimagines it or repositions it in the future. This literary form, then, is shaped through a confluence of history, cultural memory, and fictional technologies. In mechanical fashion, the cogs of steampunk move with and against each other to produce and revise an imagined “What if?” We posit that steampunk’s complexities might be better understood by examining the parts of the machine, those cogs that make the engine of steampunk work. We identify three major elements—Victorian history, the workings of cultural memory, and the modification of and recombining of past technologies and literary forms into the genre of steampunk—and then apply these to an analysis of Westerfeld’s trilogy.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
There are a number of popular steampunk books/series for young adults. We suggest the following: Cassandra Clare’s Clockwork Angel (2010), Clockwork Prince (2011) and Clockwork Princess (2013); Eoin Colfer’s Airman (2008); Catherine Fisher’s Incarceron (2007); Diana Wynne Jones’ Howl’s Moving Castle (1986); Catherine Priest’s Boneshaker (2009); Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials (1995–2000); Phillip Reeve’s (2009) Mortal Engines Quartet (2001–2006) and Fever Crumb (2009–present).
The term is written in various ways including steampunk, Steampunk, and SteamPunk. We chose to follow Jeter in using no capitalization.
See, for example, Steffan Hantke’s “Difference Engines and Other Infernal Devices” and Jagoda’s "Clacking Control Societies: Steampunk, History, and the Difference Engine of Escape" (1999).
References
Bowser, Rachel A. and Croxall, Brian. (2010). Introduction: Industrial Evolution. Neo-Victorian Studies, 3(1), 1–45.
Brownlee, John. (2007). “Meet Mr. Steampunk: Jake von Slatt.” Wired. 2 Oct 2013 <http://www.wired.com/culture/design/news/2007/06/vonslatt>.
Gross, Cory (2010) “A History of Steampunk.” Steampunk Scholar. 1 Sep 2013 <http://steampunkscholar.blogspot.com/2010/08/history-of-steampunk-by-cory-gross.html>.
Hantke, Steffen. (1999). Difference Engines and Other Infernal Devices: History According to Steampunk. Extrapolation, 40(3), 244–254.
Jagoda, Patrick. (2010). Clacking Control Societies: Steampunk, History, and the Difference Engine of Escape. Neo-Victorian Studies, 3(1), 46–71.
Jeter, K.W. (1987). “Locus Letters.” Locus. Locus Publications. 28 Mar 2014 <http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5098/5488348038_b2c21c0fda_o.jpg>.
Kansteiner, Wulf. (2002). Finding Meaning in Memory: A Methodological Critique of Collective Memory Studies. History and Theory, 41(2), 179–197.
Koss, Melanie D., and William H. Teale (2009) “What’s Happening in YA Literature? Trends in Books For Adolescents.” Journal Of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 52.7: 563–572. Academic Search Premier. Web. 17 Jan. 2014.
Krueger, Christine L. (2002). Functions of Victorian Culture at the Present Time Athens:Ohio University Press.
Marrall, Rebecca M. (2011). “Steampunk: A Genre Whose Time Has Come.” Readers’ Advisor News. Libraries Unlimited. 26 Aug 2013 <http://www.readersadvisoronline.com/ranews/mar2011/marrall.html>.
Rose, Margaret. (2010). Extraordinary Pasts: Steampunk as a Mode of Historical Representation. Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, 20(3), 319–333.
Schafer, James and Kate Franklin. (2011). “Why Steampunk (still) Matters.” Parliament & Wake. 28 May 2013 <http://parliamentandwake.com/veil/whysteampunkmatters/whysteampunkmatters>.
Shapin, Steven. (1984). Pump and Circumstance: Robert Boyle’s Literary Technology. Social Studies of Science, 14(4), 481–520.
Szpunar, Piotr. (2012). Collective Memory and the Stranger: Remembering and Forgetting the 1918 Finnish Civil War. International Journal of Communication, 6, 1201–1221.
Vandermeer, Jeff. (2011). The Steampunk Bible. New York: Harry N. Abrams; 6th ptg edition.
Von Slatt, Jake. (2006). The Steampunk Workshop. 2 Oct 2013. <http://www.steampunkworkshop.com/>.
Westerfeld, Scott and Thompson, Keith. (2009). Leviathan New York:Simon Pulse.
Westerfeld, Scott and Thompson, Keith. (2010). Behemoth New York:Simon Pulse.
Westerfeld, Scott and Thompson, Keith. (2011). Goliath New York:Simon Pulse.
Zala, Krista. (2008). “Crafter tinker with technology.” Nature. Nature Publishing Group. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v452/n7183/full/452032a.html 452.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Tammy L. Mielke teaches Children’s and Young Adult Literature at the University of Wyoming. She has published articles on Little Black Sambo, the uses of dialect in children’s literature from the 1930 s, and author Erick Berry. Her research areas focus on the transmission of culture in literature for children and young adults.
Jeanne M. LaHaie teaches Literature for the Intermediate Reader and Adolescent Literature at Western Michigan University. Her published works center on the figure of the mother in British fantasy texts and the ways in which Victorian culture shapes depictions of women and girls.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mielke, T.L., LaHaie, J.M. Theorizing Steampunk in Scott Westerfeld’s YA Series Leviathan. Child Lit Educ 46, 242–256 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10583-014-9232-0
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10583-014-9232-0