Jackie Stacey in Screen
Introduction
Screen has, over its long history as an academic journal, had several eminent and long-serving editors. Jackie Stacey, who has now decided to step down from the board, after 30 years, is one of these.
A hugely respected scholar of cinema, feminist media studies, sociology and queer studies, I think that Jackie may sometimes have felt a little bit of an outlier in relation to Screen’s deep attention to the more formal properties and histories of film and television. The journal’s reputation and focus has often – sometimes mistakenly – led to the assumption that it is not open to other kinds of readings and interests.
It is therefore entirely fitting that by making available all five of Jackie’s essays published in Screen we can demonstrate how the evolution and breadth of her own scholarship deeply informs the fabric of the journal before, during and after her editorial tenure.
The remarkable diversity of the topics she has addressed (female spectatorship, stardom, methodology, genetics, lesbian desire) reveals not only the development of an eminent thinker and scholar, but it is also aligned with the increasing breadth of Screen’s own scope and ambitions. The quality of her scholarship speaks for itself; the rigour, passion and inventiveness of this very special collection is a model to which all her fellow editors aspire.
We are grateful to our publishers in agreeing to make her essays freely available and hope that they serve to celebrate Jackie’s achievements as a scholar. We also hope that for our readers and authors, they serve as a reminder of Jackie’s gentle, rigorous and generous editorial contribution over many years. She will be much missed.
Karen Lury
For the Screen Editorial Board
