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    • Graduate Programs Overview
    • PhD in Retail, Hospitality, and Tourism Management
  • Student Experience
    • Student Experience Overview
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    • Research and Outreach Overview
    • Rural Business & Retail Development 
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    • food4VOLS
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  1. Retail, Hospitality, and Tourism Management
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  3. Kai-Sean Lee

Kai-Sean Lee

Kai-Sean Lee

March 27, 2025 by

Featured Person
Email
kaiseanlee@utk.edu
Website
https://faculty.utk.edu/Kai-Sean.Lee

Kai-Sean Lee, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

My scholarly interests lie in the intersection among aesthetics and gastronomy, which means I study the nature of good cooking, good eating, and what “good” means to different people.
As a researcher, I specialize in interpretivist and impressionist qualitative methodologies, including autoethnography, narrative inquiries, and non-positivist research designs. I am also an adamant advocate for “slow scholarship,” which stresses for a more deliberate and immersive orientation to research, thinking, and learning. Most importantly, I am profoundly known as someone who knows a lot about nothing, and nothing about a lot of things. I, too, look forward to growing with you amid this journey.
On a fun note, I identify as a w(h)ine enthusiast, meaning I love to drink wine and whine about life.

Education

Ph.D. in Business Administration
Oklahoma State University, OK
M.S. in Hospitality Administration
Oklahoma State University, OK
B.S. in Culinary Management
Le Cordon Bleu, Sunway University, Malaysia
Diploma in Culinary Arts
Le Cordon Bleu, Sunway University, Malaysia

Research Interest

Gastronomy and Culinary Arts
Deweyan Aesthetics
Qualitative Inquiry

Retail, Hospitality, and Tourism Management

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865-974-1000

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