Robert G. Lee
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Robert George Lee is an associate professor emeritus of American Studies at
Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
. He has authored key texts in Asian American Studies and, nominated by his current and former students and his colleagues, was awarded the Association for Asian American Studies' Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020.


Biography

Lee received his Bachelor of Arts from the
University of the Pacific University of the Pacific may refer to: *University of the Pacific (Colombia) *University of the Pacific (Ecuador) *University of the Pacific (Peru) * University of the Pacific (United States) *University of Asia Pacific, Bangladesh * University of ...
in 1969, his Master of Arts from the University of California, Berkeley in 1971, and then a Ph.D. in History from Brown University in 1980. Shortly after receiving his Ph.D., Lee was appointed the director of the Third World Center at Brown (now the
Brown Center for Students of Color The Brown Center for Students of Color (BCSC), formerly known as the Third World Center, is a center for the support of students of color at Brown University. Founded in 1972 at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, the Center is "a place ...
), a center that is now dedicated to the general support of students of color. His appointment began in 1981, and during his time Lee focused on helping students of color expand their career choices. Lee served as the director of the Third World Center until 1985. From 1986 to 1990, Lee served as Associate Dean of the college, associate director of the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America, and Adjunct Lecturer in the Department of American Civilization (now American Studies). In 1990, he was appointed as assistant professor in American Civilization and as associate professor in 1997. He served as Chair of the Department of American Civilization from 2009 to 2013.


Academic work

Professor Lee's interest lies in the history of
Asians Asian people (or Asians, sometimes referred to as Asiatic people)United States National Library of Medicine. Medical Subject Headings. 2004. November 17, 200Nlm.nih.gov: ''Asian Continental Ancestry Group'' is also used for categorical purpos ...
in the United States, specifically the
racial formation Racial formation theory is an analytical tool in sociology, developed by Michael Omi and Howard Winant, which is used to look at race as a socially constructed identity, where the content and importance of racial categories are determined by socia ...
of Chinese immigrants and their American-born offspring. Lee explores the ways in which
Chinese Americans Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from ...
invented Chinese-American identity and informal citizenship through social, cultural, and political institutions. More recently, he has begun a study of
vernacular photography The term vernacular photography is used in several related senses. Each is in one way or another meant to contrast with received notions of fine-art photography. Vernacular photography is also distinct from both found photography and amateur phot ...
and the self-representation of Chinese in America in the early to mid-20th century, as well as examining transpacific popular culture and social movements, including the transmission of food, martial arts, and visual cultures. Lee has written about these interests as an author of several books and as an editor for others. Historian Roger Daniels explains that ''Dear Miye, Letters Home from Japan 1939-1946'', in which Lee was the editor, "opens a window into a little-known aspect of the Nisei experience during World War II: that of the Japanese Americans who were, for one reason or another, resident in
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
during the war." Daniels lightly critiques Lee for not having "a firmer editorial hand" and for not providing enough editorial annotation at times; however, he compliments Lee for his "competent, unobtrusive job of editing." Historian Timothy A. Hickman praises the way in which Lee uses popular culture in ''Orientals: Asian Americans in Popular Culture'' to explore the social construction of the "
Orient The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the c ...
al" in terms of race and class. Hickman writes, "This is an impressive and much needed analysis. Its influence will register in studies of Asian Americans, popular culture, race and gender." Yet, Hickman is concerned that Lee's analysis could just " oildown to reductive assertions of false consciousness" due to Lee's "insistence that popular culture is... rooted in economic relations." Historian
David Roediger David R. Roediger (born July 13, 1952) is the Foundation Distinguished Professor of American Studies and History at the University of Kansas, where he has been since the fall of 2014. Previously, he was an American Kendrick C. Babcock Professor o ...
cannot stop praising the book and declares, "Because it engages so many critical debates, this brilliant and highly compressed book almost defies brief review." Scott H. Tang is also impressed with Lee's ''Orientals'', but highlights a potential weakness in "the brief treatment of the thirties and forties." Historian Daniel E. Bender commends the collection ''Race, Nation and Empire in American History'', edited by Lee alongside
James T. Campbell James T. Campbell is an American historian. He is a professor of history at Stanford University. Campbell graduated from Yale University, in 1980, and from Stanford University, with a Ph.D. in 1989. He teaches at Stanford University, and formerly t ...
and Matthew Pratt Guterl. Bender asserts that "the book suggests new models of collaboration that address an ongoing crisis in edited collection publishing," its "cohesiveness" defined by its "complexity."


Awards

Lee has received the following awards for his work: *''Dear Miye, Letters Home from Japan'' received a Special Book Award from the Association for Asian American Studies. *''Orientals: Asian Americans in Popular Culture'' received three Best Book awards from the Northeast Popular Culture/American Culture Association, the
American Political Science Association The American Political Science Association (APSA) is a professional association of political science students and scholars in the United States. Founded in 1903 in the Tilton Memorial Library (now Tilton Hall) of Tulane University in New Orleans, ...
, and the American Studies Association. This book also received an honorable mention for the John Hope Franklin Prize for Best Book in American Studies, given by the American Studies Association. *Association for Asian American Studies' Lifetime Achievement Award (2020) In 2007, Lee helped compile a volume of conference papers called ''Race, Nation and Empire in American History'' with James T. Campbell and Matthew Pratt Guterl. This compilation examined American empire, nationalism and foreign policy. Lee was awarded a
Fulbright The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...
for the 2013–2014 academic year at the Research Institute for the Humanities, Chinese University of Hong Kong. While there he developed, with his colleague Professor
Evelyn Hu-Dehart Evelyn Hu-DeHart () is a Professor of History and a Professor of American Studies at Brown University. Biography Hu-DeHart was born in Chongqing, China in 1947. Her family fled to Hong Kong in 1949 and then to the United States in 1959. She re ...
, a graduate seminar on “Transpacific History” taught in real time between Brown and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (and subsequently with the
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore The Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is a national research university in Singapore. It is the second oldest autonomous university in the country and is considered as one of the most prestigious universities in the world by various inte ...
). Professor Lee wrote about his most recent research, a large project that traces his family's photos in “Against Invisibility: Asian American Family Photographs and Public Humanities.” The essay appeared in a new anthology, ''Doing Public Humanities'' (edited by
Susan Smulyan Susan Smulyan is professor of American Studies and former director of the John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities and Cultural Heritage at Brown University. A graduate of Yale University, Smulyan's research focuses on U.S. popular cultur ...
), and was completed while Lee was a fellow at the John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities and Cultural Heritage at Brown University.


Selected publications

*“Against Invisibility” in ''Doing Public Humanities'' (edited by Susan Smulyan) (2020) *''Race, Nation and Empire in American History,'' edited with James T. Campbell and Matthew Pratt Guterl (2007) *''Displacements and Diasporas: Asians in the Americas'', edited with Wanni Anderson (2005) *''Orientals: Asian Americans in Popular Culture'' (1999) *''Dear Miye, Letters Home from Japan 1939-1946'', editor (1995)


References


External links


Robert G. Lee Faculty PageAmerican Studies at Brown University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Robert G. Brown University faculty American people of Chinese descent