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James Rae

James Rae
Assistant Professor, Government

Background and expertise:
James Rae's expertise is in International Law and Human Rights, specifically focused on peace, justice and reconciliation in post-conflict societies. His area of research is East and Southeast Asia.

Before coming to Sacramento State, Rae worked as a researcher at the United States Institute of Peace, a non-partisan think tank funded by the U.S. Congress to help prevent, manage and resolve international conflict. His area of focus was on three distinct locales: the Cambodian peace process, sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland and war crimes in the former Yugoslavia.

"I use my experiences at USIP in the classroom to discuss the practical choices that policymakers face in developing a coherent strategy to achieve peace," says Rae. "I ask my students to face the same policy dilemmas at each stage of a conflict and debate the challenges that arise at each step of an intervention. Hopefully, this background is useful in wrestling with issues of war and peace from various perspectives: ethics, social sciences and policymaking."

Rae holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Iowa, a master's degree from American University in Washington, D.C. and a doctorate from the University of Hawai'i.

Hellen Lee-Keller

Hellen Lee-Keller
Assistant Professor, Multi-Ethnic Literatures

Background and expertise:
Hellen Lee-Keller is committed to teaching the next generation of diverse citizens, teachers and scholars as a means to promote social justice.

In her teaching, Lee-Keller encourages students to challenge their intellectual stances and to build critical reading, thinking and writing skills. "I frequently insist on collaborative activities as a means to increase students’ accessibility to their peers," she explains. "For example, I have my students make oral presentations to the class or review each other's writing so that they learn from each other’s work. In addition to learning valuable skills in constructive criticism, they also learn to trust their own abilities."

She is excited to be returning to the California State University system because of the students. “I’m a CSU alum and a strong supporter of making higher education available to everyone who wants it and will work for it,” she says. "I find that students here are interested and interesting. They bring to the classroom an array of life experiences that allow them access to the various issues that I focus on in my courses."

Lee-Keller’s areas of expertise include U.S. multi-ethnic literatures; intersections of gender and sexuality, race and ethnicity, and labor and immigration; late 19th century U.S. literature and cultures; and interdisciplinary approaches to cultural production.

In addition to her teaching, Lee-Keller was elected list editor for H-AMSTDY, an online discussion list focusing on research and teaching in the field of American studies, and for interdisciplinary or multi-disciplinary perspectives on culture.

She holds a bachelor's degree in art from UC Santa Cruz and a bachelor's degree in French from UC Irvine. She earned an master's degree in humanities from CSU Dominguez Hills, and a doctorate in literature with an emphasis on cultural studies from UC San Diego.