Research & Creative Activity

Cormac McCarthy Scholar Analyzes Author’s Language

Associate Professor Bill Hardwig’s new book, How Cormac Works, explores the author’s unique literary style and experimentation with words. Associate Professor Bill Hardwig recalls being spellbound when he first read Cormac McCarthy’s descriptions in a novel, and for nearly two decades he has been introducing students at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, to the author’s…
Mead’s Quarry Research Reveals Toxic Algae Drivers

UT research into a pink algae bloom that closed the popular swimming area at Ijams Nature Center in 2024 is providing insight into how the organisms thrive. Researchers from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, who quantified high toxin levels during a 2024 pink algae bloom at Mead’s Quarry Lake have published a new study identifying…
McClanahan is Critical Criminologist of the Year

Bill McClanahan has been recognized as Critical Criminologist of the Year for his published research and teaching. Assistant Professor Bill McClanahan, Department of Sociology, is a co-recipient of the American Society of Criminology’s Division on Critical Criminology & Social Justice (DCCSJ), 2025 Critical Criminologist of the Year Award. McClanahan’s contributions was honored at the DCCSJ…
Faculty Authors Celebrated at Book Party

Annual Book Party gathering honors faculty members’ published works for the year. The College of Arts and Sciences community gathered for the third annual fall Book Party this month, celebrating 29 book-length works published in the last year by 27 faculty members in the Division of Arts and Humanities and the Division of Social Sciences.…
UT Art Alum Printing to Preserve Cherokee Language

Printmaking faculty drew Tatiana Potts (MFA ’16) to UT, and now she’s working with college students in North Carolina to print books in the Cherokee language. When Tatiana Potts (MFA ’16) was growing up in Slovakia, she first learned how to draw and paint mostly through books in her local library. Now her bookmaking skills…
Homelands Curators Receive SECAC Award

Associate Professor Lisa King’s work on an exhibition of Native Art at the McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture has been recognized with an award for curatorial excellence. The curators of the Homelands: Connecting to Mounds through Native Art exhibition at the McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture have national recognition. Associate Professor…
Building Justice Through Community Connections

The Appalachian Justice Research Center connects with regional communities to help resolve complex legal questions and transform lives. UT’s Appalachian Justice Research Center (AJRC) brings together skills and resources from the College of Arts and Sciences and the Winston College of Law to help solve urgent and historically under-addressed issues affecting people across East Tennessee…
Community Effort, Legacy Impact

Alumna’s posthumously published work earns 2025 book award. Regina (Gina) White Benedict, a 2009 Department of Sociology PhD alumna, passed away suddenly in the spring of 2021 but left behind a legacy that lifts voices from an often-unheralded segment of society. Her spirit, scholarship, and community dedication live on in her posthumously published book, Incarceration…
Call for Proposals: Tennessee Human–AI Readiness & Innovation: Ventures in Excellence (THRIVE) 2025

Introduction “Shaping Tomorrow’s Tennessee with Human–AI Solutions Today.” The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) is launching THRIVE: Tennessee Human–AI Readiness & Innovation: Ventures in Excellence, an initiative that connects the best of our scholarship with real-world impact across the state. At its core, THRIVE advances AI research and its implications across disciplines, from the…
Animal Behavior Conference Fetches High Marks

Inaugural CoLAB research gathering shines a light on UT expertise in animal behavior. The college’s Collaborative for Animal Behavior (CoLAB) hosted the Southeastern Conference for Animal Behavior (SeCAB) on September 26–27. Researchers gathered to explore the dynamic interactions between animal behavior and environmental change, and to mobilize and expand the network of behavioral biologists in…