Alternate History

I read an article recently about literary fiction authors writing genre so as to make a living, and in the comments a conversation about Science Fiction started up.  One commentator asked why alternate history should be seen as part of SF?  It's a fair question.  Historical fiction, for example, would seem to be a likely home based on the historical factor.  And alternate history doesn't necessarily fit into SF's brief involving technology/science, the future, outer space, etc. However, I think it generally fits in SF, even if it might also fit somewhere else. 

1.  Alternate History often involves technology and science - especially given that SF covers the broad range of science from the hard to the soft. What if the South had gotten advanced weaponry from aliens during the Civil War?  What if aliens visited ancient Britain?  What if the plague had never been, or had been much worse than it was?  What if there had been a gentler, kinder Genghis Khan? 

2.  The purely speculative nature of it seems to belong to a genre which is inherently speculative. Not many, if any, genres ask "What If?" as plainly and often as SF.  So it makes sense that a subgenre that is all about What If would find a home in a genre that's all about What If.

3.  Alternate History asks questions about the nature of our present by questioning our past.  Setting up alternate scenarios sheds light on what actually happened, as well as on the nature of humanity, history, and whatever else might be involved in that particular alternate world.  This is just a different aspect of the questions SF asks every day.

4.  Alternate history is arguably a sub-sub-genre of Alternate Universes - which also stands under the SF umbrella. Quantum mechanics - decision points - what if something went that way instead of this?  All honored aspects of SF. 

Again, this whole business of assigning labels and defining, etc. is fraught with peril.  Appeal is much more important, in my opinion. Alternate History has a broad appeal - for SF and History fans for sure, and beyond depending on what you add into the genre.  Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter - possible appeal to those who like vampires. Is it alternate history?  SF?  Fantasy?  Pure absurdity?

I think this defining genre thing works better as tagging than shelving. When you tag something you can put as many defining tags (or access points) as you'd like on it to find it from a variety of theoretical points of view and intellectual paths. When you shelve a tangible item, you can only put it in one place. (You could theoretically put multiple copies in multiple places, but that way potential chaos arises, especially if you need to pull every copy for some reason, so libraries just don't.) It's another way our intellectual constructs are defined by our experiences and limitations in dealing with the physical world, and it'll be interesting to see how that changes as we go more and more virtual with the data as well as the metadata.