James Lee
Office
Munroe Hall 102
Email
jl19@middlebury.edu
Office Hours
Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:45AM-11:45PM, Wednesdays 2PM-3PM, or by appointment

Shinkyu “James” Lee is a Visiting Assistant Professor of International and Global Studies (IGS) at Middlebury College, where he also serves as the Track Head for IGS’s Global Migration and Diaspora track. He holds a PhD from the joint program of the Department of Political Science and the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame. His academic training also includes graduate degrees in anthropology and religion from the University of Aberdeen and Harvard University. An interdisciplinary scholar, he has a broad range of research interests, such as global peacebuilding, political theology, and ideologies in East Asia. His work has been published in the European Journal of Political TheoryInternational Politics, the Journal of International Political Theory, the Journal of Religious Ethics, the Korean Review of Political Thought, the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of International Studies, and Polity. Formerly a soldier, seminarian, and NGO worker, he emphasizes the close relationship between theoretical ideas and the real world of politics in his teaching. Before coming to Middlebury, he taught at Oberlin College.

Courses Taught

Course Description

Introduction to International and Global Studies
This is the core course of the International and Global Studies major. It is an introduction to key international issues and problems that will likely feature prominently in their courses at Middlebury and study abroad. Issues covered will differ from year to year, but they may include war, globalization, immigration, racism, imperialism, nationalism, world organizations, non-governmental organizations, the European Union, the rise of East Asia, politics and society in Latin America, and anti-Americanism. 3 hrs. lect./disc.

Terms Taught

Spring 2025

Requirements

CMP

View in Course Catalog

Course Description

International Politics
What causes conflict or cooperation among states? What can states and other international entities do to preserve global peace? These are among the issues addressed by the study of international politics. This course examines the forces that shape relations among states, and between states and international regimes. Key concepts include: the international system, power and the balance of power, international institutions, foreign policy, diplomacy, deterrence, war, and global economic issues. Both the fall and spring sections of this course emphasize rigorous analysis and set theoretical concepts against historical and contemporary case studies. 3 hrs. lect./disc. (International Relations and Foreign Policy)/

Terms Taught

Fall 2024

Requirements

CMP, SOC

View in Course Catalog

Course Description

Human Rights in Global Politics
Does the pursuit of human rights promote world peace or generate conflict? In this course we will investigate the status of human rights in global politics. We will examine theoretical arguments about the universality of human rights, the dominance of liberal human rights regimes, and the compatibility of restorative justice and human rights. We will discuss contested cases such as the “Asian Values” critique of human rights, the Responsibility to Protect (against mass atrocities) doctrine, and the work of Truth and Reconciliation commissions. Through the course, students will acquire the skills needed to analyze the impact of human rights on political actors in the international arena. (Not open to students who have completed PSCI 0237) (International Relations and Foreign Policy)/

Terms Taught

Spring 2025

Requirements

CMP, PHL, SOC

View in Course Catalog

Publications

“The Political vs. the Theological: The Scope of Secularity in Arendtian Forgiveness,” Journal of Religious Ethics 50, no.4 (2022): 670–695.

“The Real Promise of Federalism: A Case Study of Arendt’s International Thought,” European Journal of Political Theory 21, no.3 (2022): 539–560.

“The Lex of the Earth? Arendt’s Critique of Roman Law,” Journal of International Political Theory 17, no.3 (2021): 394–411.

“Hannah Arendt’s International Agonism,” Korean Review of Political Thought [정치사상연구] 27, no.2 (2021): 215–244.

“Hannah Arendt and International Relations,” in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of International Studies, ed. Nukhet Sandal (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021), https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190846626.013.665.

“Building Communities of Peace: Arendtian Realism and Peacebuilding,” Polity 53, no.1 (2021): 75–100.

“Freedom, the State, and War: Hegel’s Challenge to World Peace,” International Politics 54, no.2 (2017): 203–220.