Welcome to the Department of Sociology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Our mission is the creation of a learning environment that emphasizes the them of Social Justice. Through course-work and research in the interest areas of Criminology, Environmental Sociology, and Political Economy and Globalization 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 high-quality research, with a particular focus on evaluating the successes and failures of social policies. Sociology Departmental Page