"I joined the AAA to engage with a community that values cultural understanding and diverse perspectives. Access to its publications and discussions has refined my theoretical grounding and introduced me to emerging research in migration studies, helping me situate my own work within broader anthropological conversations."

"I became an AAA member to connect with and learn from anthropologists who inspire change in the field. Being part of this community has helped me share my own work more widely, gain mentorship, and grow alongside colleagues who share my passion for applied, social justice-oriented research."

"I joined the AAA to broaden my professional network and share my research with others. Anthropologists in and outside academia have inspired me to apply anthropology to real-world issues and positively impact people's health and well-being."

"Keep asking questions."

Lee received his B.S. from Portland State University and his doctorate in anthropology from Temple University. He has been a resident fellow at Harvard’s W.E.B. Du Bois Institute, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, Johns Hopkins’s Institute for Global Studies, The University of Ghana-Legon, the American Philosophical Society, and the National Humanities Center. His books include From Savage to Negro: Anthropology and the Construction of Race, 1896-1954 (1998), Life in America: Identity and Everyday Experience (2003), and Anthropology and the Racial Politics of Culture (2010).

Although he focuses on the history of anthropology, he has published numerous articles on a wide range of subjects from socio-linguistics to race and democracy. Baker also received the Richard K. Lublin Distinguished Teaching Award and the American Anthropological Association’s award for Distinguished Achievement in the Critical Study of North America. From 2008-2016, he served as Duke’s Dean of Academic Affairs.