Bachelor of Arts in Sociology/Master of Arts in Sociology - Critical Race and Ethnic Studies

The Critical Race and Ethnic Studies area within the Department of Sociology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville offers a variety of courses at both undergraduate and graduate levels to prepare students for understanding the issues of race and ethnicity in the twenty-first century. Through a critical and historical lens, courses in the area interrogate how racial and ethnic categories coalesce around structural inequalities and across multiple geographies. Race and ethnicity are foundational social structures influencing nearly every process in which human beings are engaged. These markers of difference shape social life from the seemingly individual and mundane, such as whom we choose to date, to internationally contentious social issues such as police violence and social protest movements. Race and ethnicity influence life expectancies, the participation of nation-states in the world system, and population flows across the globe. This focus enables students to demystify the claims of dominant groups about race and ethnicity and to understand overarching themes of social stratification, harm, and humanity.