The Prime-Time Presidency: The West Wing and U.S. Nationalism

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments our interest in The West Wing began, like so many other avid viewers, with the show’s debut in 1999 and has not waned since. Our academic interest in the program began at almost the same time, and along the way numerous individuals have contributed to our thinking about the program , the issues it raises, and its ideological meaning for U.S. political culture . Shawn’s interest in matters of nationalism began with an independent study at Monmouth College that brought together several scholars from various disciplines (art, communication, English, government and politics, and history) as well as several undergraduate students interested in cultural studies. She thanks those scholars for their discussions related to theories of nationalism and globalism, particularly Farhat Haq, Cheryl Meeker, Jan Stirm, and Simon Cordery. Shawn’s study of nationalism expanded once she came to the University of Maryland and was invited to participate in two summer programs as part of the International Institute in Women’s Studies, “Theories and Practices of Difference” and “Commonality,” sponsored by the Department of Women’s Studies and the Curriculum Transformation Project. First, she thanks Claire Moses for her mentorship and for inviting her to become an affiliate faculty member with women’s studies.In addition,she thanks Seung-kyung Kim and Deborah Rosenfelt for inviting her to participate in the summer conferences and Bonnie Thorton Dill for her insights on matters of intersectionality. Finally , she acknowledges two graduate students from women’s studies—Luh Ayu Prasetyaningsih and Na-Young Lee—with whom she worked on an in00 .front.i-xii_Parry-Giles 12/12/05 4:40 PM Page ix dependent study project related to theories of gendered and racialized nationalism . Conversations that took place during such interactions helped her formulate several of the arguments about nationalism that appear in this volume. We also thank several faculty members at the Department of Communication for their on-going conversations regarding The West Wing: James Klumpp, Mari Boor Tonn, Linda Aldoory, and Joseph McCaleb. We are also indebted to Edward L.Fink for his support as chair of the Department of Communication . We thank Bjørn Stillion Southard for his tireless research efforts in locating and retrieving many of the primary sources cited in this book. We also acknowledge those who reviewed and/or reacted to versions of this project in its initial stages of development, including Karlyn Kohrs Campbell, Dana Cloud,Sharon Downey,Christine Harold,and John Murphy.We are also indebted to the feedback of Vanessa Beasley and Bonnie Dow at the manuscript stage of this project for reviews that were insightful and instrumental to refining theories linked to the study of the media,feminism,and the history of U.S.nationalism.In addition,they were generous and careful in their reading of our analysis of The West Wing, making sure that our discussion of the text was argued and evidenced sufficiently even if they disagreed with our interpretations . Kerry Callahan at the University of Illinois Press has been gracious, patient , and very encouraging of our project. Everyone at the University of Illinois Press has been helpful and supportive in the final production of this volume , and we are grateful for their work. Finally, we are most indebted to our children—Samuel B. and Eliam T. Parry-Giles—for their patience with a project that spanned several years in their young lives. Even though they are not fans of The West Wing, they endured endless hours of conversation about it and tolerated the constant viewing of current and past episodes.Research and teaching is our profession,but our passion and inspiration derives from our lives with these two great kids. x . acknowledgments 00.front.i-xii_Parry-Giles 12/12/05 4:40 PM Page x The Prime-Time Presidency 00.front.i-xii_Parry-Giles 12/12/05 4:40 PM Page xi 00.front.i-xii_Parry-Giles 12/12/05 4:40 PM Page xii ...