by Katy Wai Kwan Ho. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 146-153). / Abstract --- p.i / Acknowledgments --- p.iii / Chapter Chapter One: --- The Chinese Wanderers in the United States --- p.1 / Chapter Chapter Two: --- Cultural Fragmentation and Psychical Split: The Wanderer in Dis-placement --- p.35 / Chapter Chapter Three: --- Chinese (Ethnic)-American (Cultural) Hybridity --- p.75 / Chapter Chapter Four: --- "The ""Unhomed"" and Multiplicities of Identity" --- p.98 / Chapter Chapter Five: --- The Images of Wandering --- p.130 / Bibliography --- p.146

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / In his novels Slaughterhouse-five and The Sirens of Titan, Kurt Vonnegut explores issues of cultural identity in technologically-advanced societies post-World War II. With the rise of globalization and rapid technological advancements that occurred postwar, humans worldwide were mitigating the effects of information overload and instability in cultural identity. The influx of cultural influences that accompany a global society draws attention to the fluidity and inevitability of cultural change. A heightened awareness of cultural influences—past and present—creates anxiety for the generation living postwar and before the dawn of the Information Age. This generation suffers from “cultural schizophrenia”: a fracturing of the psyche characterized by anxiety over unstable cultural identities and agency. With the characters of Billy Pilgrim and Winston Niles Rumfoord, Vonnegut explores the different reactions to and consequences of cultural schizophrenia. His unique writing style is an effective hybrid of science fiction conventions and the complexities of human culture and society. Ultimately, Vonnegut explores the dangers of detachment and the complicated nature of agency with novels that are both innovative and accessible.