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Over the course of this project I have gained a better understanding of the complex and subtle manner in which race and gender suffuse the terrains of citizenship and popular culture in the United States. Not only have I discovered that there are no easy answers to the vexing ways in which these categories of identity intersect, I have also come to appreciate the many different ways in which mainstream television tries to capture this complexity. In this, sometimes tedious and most often fascinating, process of learning I have had assistance from various quarters, some within the formal institutions of academe and the others from the informal kindness and generosity of numerous friends and colleagues. The extended nature of this inquiry means that I am indebted to numerous people for their enthusiasm, their zeal, and their patience. Often, seemingly offhand comments drove me back to examine the primary questions of this project and have provided intellectually exhilarating avenues. For these and boundless other insights I have not been able to thank everyone individually but my gratitude is unreserved. Maurine Beasley, Evelyn Beck, Gina Marchetti, Jim Klumpp, Steve Barkin, Michael Gurevitch, and Richard Brown among numerous others at the University of Maryland taught me to pose difficult questions pertaining to democracy and citizenship. They have insisted upon and guided me through the process of critical thinking and their insights continue to shape my scholarship. Julie D’Acci, Anita Fellman, Rashmi Luthra, Lisa McLaughlin , Toby Miller, and Usha Zacharias have read parts of this manuscript, offered suggestions for improving it, and encouraged me with the research. Lisa Cuklanz, Sarah Projansky, Andrea Slane, and Patricia Priest have shared their ideas and their interest in television images of rape with ceaseless enthusiasm . They have offered a continuing dialogue and a community of scholarship . Rina Banerjee has helped me gain a better understanding of art. She and Andrea have spent long hours explaining the processes of producing artworks . Together these scholars have provided me intellectual sustenance and ix Acknowledgments sharpened my interest in the politics of cultural representation. In almost all cases I have accepted their proposals, but if on occasion, I did through carelessness , disregard their warnings all errors of judgment and taste remain firmly with me. Other friends and colleagues deserve my appreciation for their support. Mona Danner, Ed Jacobs, Carolyn Lawes, Jane Merritt, and Manuela Mourão have helped me stay focused and often borne with equanimity my distracted behavior. Amanda Bloodgood has doggedly helped me with the minutiae of research. Some of the arguments I develop in Chapter 5, “Testifying in the Court of Daytime Talk Shows,” first appeared in Social Text. I would also like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their comments, which helped me examine my analysis with greater clarity. I am indebted to my editors at SUNY Press, Ron Hellfrich and Priscilla Ross, who have assisted me. My thanks also to Michael Haggett, Michele Lansing, and Lisa Chesnel who have worked assiduously with me and have helped me improve the manuscript. Above all my family has been very generous with their time and patience. They have borne this project with forbearance and have offered me the serenity and sanctuary that writing requires. Amaresh and Usha have provided long-distance support and encouragement. Sanat and Raman have assisted me in countless ways, reading large portions of the manuscript and offering me kind nudges to complete it. Rina and Vas have offered their friendship and held my hand when needed. My father has diligently read the manuscript at numerous stages and has awaited its completion. Ananya has unknowingly brought much delight to this project. x ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...

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