Faculty Profile
Helene Lee
Associate Professor of Sociology (2008)
Contact Information
Denny Hall Denny Hall 113
717-245-1249
Bio
Helene K. Lee’s research and teaching focus on immigration/migration, globalization, race/ethnicity particularly Asian American identities, and qualitative methods. Her book, Between Foreign and Family: Return Migration and Identity Construction among Korean Americans and Korean Chinese (Rutgers University Press), received the Book Award on Asian America from the Asia/Asian-America Section of the American Sociological Association. She is currently working on a project on the ways racial, ethnic, and immigrant identities shape understandings of care work at both ends of the life spectrum. In particular, she is interested in how second-generation Asian Americans balance and negotiate the responsibilities of elder care for their aging immigrant parents with parenting their dependent children at a time when expectations have been more intensive and involved.
Education
- B.A., Cornell University, 1997
- M.A., University of California, Santa Barbara, 2003
- Ph.D., 2009
2026-2027 Academic Year
Fall 2026
SOCI 233 Asian American Communities
This class is designed to move from theoretical understandings of “race,” and racial identity as it operates in our everyday lives to larger, structural determinants of race with special attention to the unique position of Asian Americans in U.S. race relations. This course focuses on social relations, political identities and activism, immigration and labor experiences to explore the ways Asian Americans have contributed to our larger histories as Americans. Broken down into three sections, this class analyzes the position of Asian Americans in the following interconnected contexts: (a) Asian Americans in relation to dominant society, (b) Asian Americans in relation to other communities of color, and (c) pan-Asian relations. Offered every year.
SOCI 237 Global Inequality
Exploring the relationship between globalization and inequality, this course examines the complex forces driving the integration of ideas, people, societies and economies worldwide. This inquiry into global disparities will consider the complexities of growth, poverty reduction, and the roles of international organizations. Among the global issues under scrutiny, will be environmental degradation; debt forgiveness; land distribution; sweatshops, labor practices and standards; slavery in the global economy; and the vulnerability of the world's children. Under specific investigation will be the social construction and processes of marginalization, disenfranchisement and the effects of globalization that have reinforced the division between the world's rich and poor. Offered every year.
Spring 2027
WGSS 202 Who Cares? Politics & Soc Org
Cross-listed with SOCI 230-05. Everyone needs care in some way– emotional, physical, mental – and this can change in intensity and form across the life course. How do we define what it means to care for others? How does race, ethnicity, socioeconomic class, immigrant status, and other dimensions complicate paid and unpaid care and carework for children, aging elders, and everyone in between? What are structures and policies that facilitate or create barriers to accessing care? In this class, we will explore these questions in the context of growing commodification of care under capitalism, transnational care chains and careworkers, the role of the State and public policies, and other factors that impact the importance of care and carework.
SOCI 230 Who Cares? Politics & Soc Org
Cross-listed with WGSS 202-02. Everyone needs care in some way– emotional, physical, mental – and this can change in intensity and form across the life course. How do we define what it means to care for others? How does race, ethnicity, socioeconomic class, immigrant status, and other dimensions complicate paid and unpaid care and carework for children, aging elders, and everyone in between? What are structures and policies that facilitate or create barriers to accessing care? In this class, we will explore these questions in the context of growing commodification of care under capitalism, transnational care chains and careworkers, the role of the State and public policies, and other factors that impact the importance of care and carework.
SOCI 240 Qualitative Methods
This course introduces students to the theory and methods of social science research, beginning with an examination of the philosophies underlying various research methodologies. The course then focuses on ethnographic field methods, introducing students to the techniques of participant observation, structured and informal interviewing, oral histories, sociometrics, and content analysis. Students will design their own field projects. Prerequisite: 110.