Acknowledgements
Without the generous support from the Simpson Center for the Humanities and the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington as well as the National Endowment for the Humanities, this project would not have been completed. I am particularly grateful for the intellectual input, feedback, and advice from the 2020 Digital Humanities Summer Fellows: Melinda (Mindy) Cohoon, Cricket Keating, Laurie Marhoefer, Kate Norako, Solmaz Shakerifard, Taylor Soja, Geoffrey (Geoff) Turnovsky, and Kathleen (Kathy) Woodward. I extend my appreciation to our librarians, particularly Ian Chapman, Maryam Fakouri, and John Vallier.
My intellectual debts extend far into the past. However, I would like to take this opportunity to express my deepest gratitude to my mentor John Christopher (Chris) Hamm and field adviser Yomi Braester for their great wisdom, knowledge, stimulation, and support. They have played a key role in my development as a humanities scholar. Eric Ames’s Film Noir course and Sarah Ross’s introduction to the video essay have played an important role in the shaping of this project.
Special thanks go to Christian Keathley, Jason Mittell, and Catherine Grant for editing The Videographic Essay: Practice and Pedagogy, which provides invaluable essays about and examples of videographic criticism.
Finally, I want to mention how much I appreciate the presence and love of my families and friends in both Taipei and Seattle. To all of them I dedicate this project with love. In particular, I dedicate it to my husband Shih-Chi Liu for his accomplice, criticism, and companionship.