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Sociology is delighted to welcome Prof. Stephanie Bohon (with graduate students left to right: Jaime Morales, Ruben Ortiz, Stephanie Bohon, Sarah Castillo, Jiayi Li, Abby Tobias-Lauerman, Aya Barnes, and Nadya Vera) as our next Department Head. Sociology major Uriah Richey, first ever recipient of the Zaevion Dobson scholarship, graduates from UT. Dr. Christina Ergas addresses the crowd at Climate Strike 2019. Dr. Brown and graduate students Rachel Ponder, Della Winters, Kyra Martinez and Vivian Swayne at the Law & Society Annual Conference last summer. Prof. Kurti’s Spring 2020 “Punishment and Society” course received guest-speaker and living historian Barry Thacker from the Coal Creek Foundation. Dr. Jon Shefner giving a talk on his new book “Why Austerity Persists” at graduate recruitment. Sociology Stands Up. Alumnus Kayla Parker has spent the past year working for Amnesty International and the Elizabeth Warren presidential campaign. Welcome to all!

Welcome to the Department of Sociology

Welcome to the Department of Sociology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Ours is a research and teaching environment that emphasizes the theme of SOCIAL JUSTICE. We conduct research and teach in the interest areas of:

Students develop an understanding of both everyday social behavior and the structural factors that contribute to social injustices. In the seminar room and in the field, students also acquire the intellectual tools to identify and critically analyze social phenomena and trends, along with the methodological tools to conduct rigorous research.

In and out of the classroom we understand that how we conduct ourselves affects the learning and well-being of others.  We are individual scholars as well as a scholarly community, and therefore – against polarizing currents – we invest in both our own and others’ capacities and insights.


The flagship campus of the University of Tennessee System and partner in the Tennessee Transfer Pathway.