Rachel Lee's Research at UCLA: Intersections of Race, Gender, and Technology
Rachel C. Lee is a prominent scholar at UCLA whose research spans various fields, including race/ethnic studies, gender and sexuality theories, and Asian American literature. Her work delves into the intricate relationships between these areas and their manifestations in diverse cultural forms like stand-up comedy, dance, new media, and literature, often considering their reflection on the life sciences. This article explores the key themes and contributions of Rachel Lee's research, drawing from her publications and projects at UCLA.
Background and Education
Rachel C. Lee's journey to becoming a distinguished scholar began with her upbringing as the daughter of immigrants in suburban New Jersey. She attended a small high school where she was one of a few Asian American students. Seeking a more diverse environment, she enrolled at Cornell University, majoring in English. She later pursued graduate studies at Emory University as a George W. Woodruff Fellow, studying under Hortense J. Spillers. In 1991, she arrived at UCLA to pursue a Ph.D. in English Literature and after a post-doc at UC Berkeley, she joined the faculty at UCLA in 1995. She is currently a Professor in the departments of English and Gender Studies.
Key Research Areas
Lee's scholarship is characterized by its interdisciplinary approach, drawing on critical methods from race/ethnic studies alongside theories of gender and sexuality. Her research interests include:
- Asian American Literature and Culture: Lee has made significant contributions to the field of Asian American literary studies. She edited and co-edited The Routledge Companion to Asian American and Pacific Islander Literature and Culture (2014), a comprehensive resource that offers a general introduction and a range of critical approaches to this field. She also edited Asian America.Net: Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Cyberspace (2003), exploring the intersections of ethnicity, nationalism, and digital technology in the context of Asian America.
- Gender and Sexuality Studies: Lee's work consistently examines the role of gender and sexuality in shaping identities and experiences within Asian American communities. In her analysis of Carlos Bulosan's America is in the Heart, she reveals how gender and sexuality are integral to Bulosan's definition of national identities.
- New Media and Digital Technology: Lee's research explores the impact of new media and digital technology on race, ethnicity, and identity. Her edited volume, Asian America.Net, delves into the ways in which cyberspace has become a site for the construction and negotiation of Asian American identities.
- Biopolitics and Posthumanism: Lee's book, The Exquisite Corpse of Asian America: Biopolitics, Biosociality and Posthuman Ecologies (2014), examines the intersections of race, science, and technology in the context of Asian America. She explores how biopolitical forces shape the lives and bodies of Asian Americans, and how new technologies are transforming our understanding of what it means to be human.
- Environmental Studies: Lee's research also extends to environmental studies, particularly in the context of her work with the Center for the Study of Women. Her project, "Chemical Entanglements: Gender and Exposure," examines the gendered impacts of everyday chemical exposures and seeks to create space for cross-disciplinary feminist research on this issue.
Major Publications and Projects
Rachel Lee has an extensive record of publications, including books, edited volumes, and journal articles. Some of her notable works include:
- The Exquisite Corpse of Asian America: Biopolitics, Biosociality and Posthuman Ecologies (2014): This award-winning book explores the intersections of race, science, and technology in the context of Asian America.
- The Routledge Companion to Asian American and Pacific Islander Literature and Culture (2014): As editor, Lee provides a comprehensive overview of the field, covering key theories, themes, and methodologies.
- Asian America.Net: Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Cyberspace (2003): This edited volume examines the role of the internet in shaping Asian American identities and communities.
- "The Americas of Asian American Literature: Gendered Fictions of Nation and Transnation": In this article, Lee examines major prose works by Bulosan, Jen, Hagedorn, and Yamashita through the lens of gender, with a focus on national or transnational identity. She argues for the importance of gender criticism in Asian American literary studies.
- "The Erasure of Places and the Re-Siting of Empire in Wendy Law-Yone's The Coffin Tree": This article analyzes Wendy Law-Yone's novel, highlighting the importance of place and location in Asian American literature.
- "Are Biocultural Creatures Posthistorical Agents?": This essay explores the intersections of biological processes and historical agency, drawing on Samantha Frost's Biocultural Creatures: Toward A New Theory of the Human and Chang-Rae Lee's novel, On Such a Full Sea.
- "Reading Contests and Contesting Reading: Chang-Rae Lee's Native Speaker and Ethnic New York": This article examines Chang-Rae Lee's novel in the context of ethnic New York.
- "Notes from the (non)Field": This piece reflects on the author's feminist formation within educational institutions in the United States, particularly at UCLA.
- "Chemical Entanglements: Gender and Exposure": This project, through the Center for the Study of Women, investigates the gendered impacts of everyday chemical exposures and aims to promote cross-disciplinary feminist research on this issue.
Key Themes and Contributions
Several key themes emerge from Rachel Lee's research:
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- Interdisciplinarity: Lee's work bridges multiple disciplines, including literary studies, gender studies, ethnic studies, and science and technology studies. This interdisciplinary approach allows her to offer nuanced and insightful analyses of complex social and cultural phenomena.
- Focus on Marginalized Voices: Lee's research centers on the experiences of marginalized groups, particularly Asian Americans, women, and LGBTQ+ individuals. She amplifies these voices and sheds light on the challenges and opportunities they face.
- Critical Engagement with Technology: Lee's work examines the ways in which technology shapes our identities, our relationships, and our understanding of the world. She critically assesses the potential benefits and risks of new technologies, particularly in the context of race and gender.
- Emphasis on Embodiment and Materiality: Lee's research pays close attention to the body and its relationship to the environment. She explores how biopolitical forces and environmental factors impact the health and well-being of marginalized communities.
Analysis of Specific Works
Asian America.Net: Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Cyberspace
This edited volume explores the complex relationship between Asian American identity and the internet. In her introduction, Lee notes the debates surrounding the political, cultural, and social consequences of reconstituting Asian America's geopolitical borders in international, transnational, and postnational terms. She argues that gender criticism in Asian American literary studies has often been intertwined with cultural nationalism, which has both positive and negative consequences. While cultural nationalism has brought attention to sexism within the community, Lee warns that the waning authority of cultural nationalism may also diminish the urgency of this type of gender criticism. The book contributes to the ongoing discussion of national and transnational identity by asserting the importance of gender.
The Exquisite Corpse of Asian America: Biopolitics, Biosociality and Posthuman Ecologies
In this book, Lee examines the intersections of race, science, and technology in the context of Asian America. The book delves into the biopolitical forces that shape the lives and bodies of Asian Americans, as well as the ways in which new technologies are transforming our understanding of what it means to be human. The book explores themes of embodiment, materiality, and the environment, offering a critical perspective on the relationship between race, science, and technology.
"Care Work and Molecular Intimacies in Ocean Vuongâs On Earth We Are Briefly Gorgeous"
In her 2022 Journal of Transnational American Studies article, Lee explores care work as emotional and erotic support labor in Ocean Vuong's novel, On Earth We Are Briefly Gorgeous. The illnesses in the novel are not easily addressed by conventional medical interventions, but rather involve mental health challenges, addiction, and grief. Lee argues that Vuong's novel uniquely contributes to health and environmental humanities, disability studies, and reproductive labor by depicting care work alongside atmospheric dangers such as weather effects, military weapons deployment, and unregulated chemicals. She introduces heuristic terms such as molecular entreaty, affective chemistries of care, hypo-interventions, and intimate or slow activism to analyze these themes.
"The Americas of Asian American Literature"
In this article, Lee examines four major prose works by Bulosan, Jen, Hagedorn, and Yamashita through the lens of gender with an additional focus on national or transnational identity. Lee asserts that while Asian Americanists debate the political, cultural, and social consequences of reconstituting Asian America's geopolitical borders in international, transnational, and postnational terms, gender criticism in Asian American literary studies is, to a large degree, mired in a cultural nationalist problematic. Lee provides a strong addition to the struggle to assert gender's importance in the ongoing discussion of national and transnational identity.
"The Erasure of Places and the Re-Siting of Empire in Wendy Law-Yone's The Coffin Tree"
Lee turns to a text that has been read predominantly without regard to its geopolitical nuances-Wendy Law-Yone's The Coffin Tree.
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Impact and Significance
Rachel Lee's research has had a significant impact on the fields of Asian American studies, gender studies, and science and technology studies. Her work has challenged conventional understandings of race, gender, and technology, and has opened up new avenues for research and activism. She provides a nuanced understanding of the complexities of identity, culture, and power in the contemporary world. Her work is essential reading for anyone interested in the intersections of race, gender, and technology.
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