Citizen-Spy

There is always a tinge of hubris in acknowledgments; the longer the litany of
appreciation, the more it resembles a giddy declaration of wealth. Still, my sister
always tells me that it’s a kindness to allow people to help you, and to not let
one’s creeping sense of unworth stand in the way of good will. I suspect she’s
right, so I’ll start there: thank you, Lari, for your enthusiasm and curiosity. I’m
also grateful to be part of a family that wasn’t required to do, think, and believe
the same things in the same way at the same time. Edwin Lau was my first
intellectual colleague; Jane Shattuc was my first mentor.
The Media and Cultural Studies Program in the Department of Communication
Arts at the University of Wisconsin–Madison was a remarkably inviting
home. The faculty and graduate students there often showed a rare combination
of compassionate community, quick laughter, and the well-placed followup
question. No one embodies all three of these characteristics as fully as Jason
Mittell, unless it’s Kevin Glynn. Daniel Marcus and Derek Kompare offered
thoughtful comments on works in progress, as did Darrell Newton, Norma
Coates, Chris Smith, and Doug Battema. Jo Ellen Fair and Vance Kepley were
gracious readers. Our weekly colloquia and hallway conversations were deeply
enriching, and the Red Shed to which we regularly adjourned is a last great
grubby Third Place. Throughout graduate school, Lisa Parks was my best friend
and critic, and she helped shape what this project would become. John Fiske
taught me to care about cultural theory and to love teaching it. Michele Hilmes
patiently read endless speculative pages and guided me toward more interesting
questions; she also gave me my first experience teaching television and introduced
me to the musty pleasures of the archive. Julie D’Acci read each sentence
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Acknowledgments