Social Sciences

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.…
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…
Student-Faculty Collaboration Refreshes McClung Exhibit

Anthropology student and professor collaborate to update long-standing McClung exhibit on human origins. The university celebrated the Scopes Trial Centennial throughout 2025 with numerous public activities that addressed a variety of topics related to the historic Tennessee trial and the science of evolution. As official events rolled along, one honors anthropology student and her faculty…
UT Scholar Part of Rare Etruscan Tomb Discovery

UT doctoral student Anna Catherine Gibbs’ archaeology research took her to Italy and the opening of an undisturbed tomb from the seventh century BCE. Anna Catherine Gibbs returned to Italy in the summer of 2025 for her seventh season of fieldwork on the San Giuliano Archaeological Research Project (SGARP), working with the team that lowered…
Scholar Spotlight: Vivian Swayne

“I study policing, culture, housing insecurity, race, gender, and sexuality.” Vivian SwayneTeaching Assistant ProfessorDepartment of Sociology I am particularly interested in how various forms of communication, from the visual arts to social media, reinforce and challenge the dominant social order. Damaging misinformation and myths about marginalized groups circulate as factual, and my work interrogates the…
Scholar Spotlight: Leonardo Gentil Fernandes

“I study organizations that use violence to achieve political goals. I am primarily interested in how these groups, which are not governments, cooperate with each other and how they sometimes act like governments.” Leonardo Gentil FernandesAssistant ProfessorDepartment of Political Science I use computational and statistical approaches to unearth generalizable patterns of behaviors among armed non-state…
UT Opportunities Create T-Shaped Career Skills

Exploring courses, internships, and other activities, Emma Miller is earning dual degrees that are built on her interests and will ensure she stands out in the workforce. Emma C. Miller is preparing to graduate from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in December with deep expertise and broad understanding, a combination that provides a strong foundation…
New Social Sciences Faculty for Fall 2025

New faculty members add problem-solving perspectives to the UT social sciences community. New faculty members joining the college’s Division of Social Sciences this fall contribute to the ongoing exploration of helping make our institutions, communities, and the individuals who inhabit them stronger, healthier, and better equipped for the challenges of tomorrow. They join a faculty…
Good Research Neighbors: Measuring Innovation in Urban Areas

A UT research center team published a new study in npj Complexity that challenges conventional wisdom on how city size fuels innovation. Researchers with UT’s Center for the Dynamics of Social Complexity (DySoC) published a new study in npj Complexity revealing that the method by which cities are measured—and not just their size—profoundly shapes patterns…
Vol Impact: 2025 Alumni and Philanthropy Awards

Group Photo 2025 Alumni and Philanthropy Awards. Left to right: Dan Ricketts, Steve Frankel, Margie Nichols Gill, Interim Executive Dean Robert Hinde, Todd Metcalf, and Mike Dennis. The 2025 Alumni and Philanthropy Awards honor dedicated Vols whose support and service dedication help maintain the College of Arts and Sciences advantage. The UT College of Arts…