Lea Jacobs

Lea Jacobs (born January 12, 1957) is an American film historian, author of The Wages of Sin, Theatre to Cinema (1997), The Decline of Sentiment (2008), Film Rhythm After Sound (2015) and John Ford at Work (2025). She is professor emeritus of film at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Department of Communication Arts.

Biography Lea Jacobs was born on January 12, 1957, in Passaic, New Jersey. was supervised by Janet Bergstrom.

After working at the Rockefeller Foundation as a postdoctoral fellow from 1987 to 1988, Jacobs joined the University of Wisconsin–Madison, as an assistant professor of communication arts. She was promoted to associate professor in 1994 and full professor in 1999,

As an academic, Jacobs focuses on American film. and Film Rhythm After Sound (2015), on the history of film technology during the transition between silent film and sound. Her next book, John Ford at Work, examines the career of John Ford in relation to evolving film technology, will be released in October 2025.

In 2002, she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for "a study of the decline of sentiment in American silent film." In addition to film history, she has also taught animation history at UW Madison. Theatre to Cinema (1997) The Decline of Sentiment (2008) Film Rhythm After Sound (2015) John Ford at Work (2025)