Film serials and the american cinema, 1910-1940 : Operational Detection

Abstract

In writing this book, I have had the pleasure and the honor of benefiting from the input of many bright scholars, close friends, and simply brilliant human beings. The single most influential person in this project was Ruth Mayer, my adviser, who offered both encouragement and criticism throughout the years, and who, when the project felt most overwhelming and the chapters didn’t seem to form a flowing argument, stepped in and told me what I needed to do to get this finished. I am indebted to a group of people at and around the University of Hannover in Germany, who encouraged me to start the project, who shaped its very beginnings, and who continued to be influential over the years. These include everyone who read and commented on my chapters in the American Studies colloquium, especially Felix Brinker, Shane Denson, Svenja Fehlhaber, Florian Groß, Christina Meyer, Bettina Soller, and Kirsten Twelbeck. Felix deserves special credit for alerting me to the operational aesthetic of serial forms, and Svenja for being the best possible office buddy. Additionally, Sandra Dinter and Stefanie John proved to be invaluable friends. I thank them for being my library family and emotional support system. Some of the people just mentioned spent additional time reading and commenting upon individual chapters in the final stages of this project—thank you all, again. In Hannover I am also indebted to Kerstin Sjöstedt-Hellmuth, who never doubted my capacity to do this in the first place.