John Lie ( ) is professor of

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

. His principal academic interests are

social theory Social theories are analytical frameworks, or paradigms, that are used to study and interpret social phenomena.Seidman, S., 2016. Contested knowledge: Social theory today. John Wiley & Sons. A tool used by social scientists, social theories rel ...

political economy Political economy is the study of how economic systems (e.g. markets and national economies) and political systems (e.g. law, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied phenomena within the discipline are systems such as labour ...

, social identity, and

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both Geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The modern State (polity), states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. ...

Early life and education

Lie was born in Seoul, South Korea. He grew up in Tokyo, Japan, and Honolulu, Hawaii. After graduating from Punahou School, he attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

(A.B., Social Studies; Ph.D., Sociology). He has held tenured appointments at the

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the Flagship#Colleges and universities in ...

and the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, as well as holding visiting appointments at

Yonsei University Yonsei University (; ) is a private research university in Seoul, South Korea. As a member of the " SKY" universities, Yonsei University is deemed one of the three most prestigious institutions in the country. It is particularly respected in th ...

, Keio University,

, and other institutions.

Career

Lie's "sociological imagination" trilogy explores the intersection of biography, history, and social structure by analyzing his Korean diasporic experience. The trilogy comprises ''Blue Dreams: Korean Americans and the Los Angeles Riots'', ''Han Unbound: The Political Economy of South Korea'', and ''Multiethnic Japan''. These books have transformed our understanding of topics ranging from ethnic conflict and economic growth to the nature of contemporary Japanese society. The latest addition is "Zainichi (Koreans in Japan): Diasporic Nationalism and Postcolonial Identity". He is a widely cited and quoted authority on the Korean diaspora. Perhaps his most important book to date is ''Modern Peoplehood''. It seeks to advance a unified theory to make sense of race, nation, ethnicity, racism, and (peoplehood) identity. By advancing a general theory of race, ethnicity, and nation that avoids ethnocentrism and essentialism, his theory of "modern peoplehood" promises to advance the current impasse of social-scientific discussion on these topics. Lie was Dean of International and Area Studies at Berkeley for five years. In that capacity, he has been at the forefront of globalizing the university. In the 2010s, Lie has continued to publish books on a variety of topics, including K-pop, East Asian political economy, and Japan and the idea of sustainable society.

Bibliography

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References

External links

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International and Area Studies Dean's Office
University of California, Berkeley {{DEFAULTSORT:Lie, John Living people South Korean emigrants to the United States University of California, Berkeley College of Letters and Science faculty Punahou School alumni Harvard University alumni People from Seoul American sociologists University of Michigan faculty Year of birth missing (living people)