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University of Tennessee-Knoxville

University of Tennessee-Knoxville's course descriptions average 65.2 on the 100-to-0 ruler: clearly left of center. Across all 100 schools, the average is 67.5, so University of Tennessee-Knoxville reads 2.4 points further right.

ShowCompared withDepartments

Liberal (100)center (50)Conservative (0)

University of Tennessee-Knoxville: 65.2 (likely range 63.1 to 67.2) All 100 schools: 67.5 each other school in the comparison

Where its courses fall

0%Far left92–100

12%Left75–91

85%Center-left59–74

3%Center42–58

0%Center-right26–41

0%Right9–25

0%Far right0–8

33 plotted courses (the ones with a political framing). 100 = far left, 50 = the average American, 0 = far right.

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Framing Subject

Underlined: words the model quoted from the description when we asked it, after scoring, to explain its score.

Furthest left

SOCI 460 · Capitalism and Racism83

Sociology

Explores the emergence of race and racism with capitalism through an examination of capitalist geographies, institutions, racialized labor dynamics, and in resistance to various forms of domination. Course themes may include racial slavery,…

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WGS 201 · Intro to LGBTQ+ Studies76

Women's & Gender Studies

An interdisciplinary introduction to key concepts and methods in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender studies, including scholarship on asexuality, intersexuality, and 2SQ (Two-Spirit/Queer) sexualities. Students will examine the history…

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SOCI 361 · Environmental Justice75

Sociology

This course provides an environmental justice framework for understanding how racialized discrimination, gender, sexual orientation, income, and national origin are intrinsically connected to environmental degradation, climate change, and…

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Furthest right

None. University of Tennessee-Knoxville has 33 left-framed courses and not one right-framed course.

Why this number, in plain words

Political lean of course descriptions. Average Framing score (0 = far right, 50 = center, 100 = far left) of the scored courses in the group.

50 is the survey-anchored center of US adults on each issue (the "moderate" place of the ANES/GSS/PRRI seven-label ruler), not the cohort midpoint; scores above 50 read leftward, below 50 rightward.

Counted: courses with a Framing score (categories L/R/B/C). The likely range (95% interval) is 63.1 to 67.2; a comparison whose range overlaps this one is not a reliable difference.

Most course descriptions carry no political lean at all and are not in this average; the "share described from the left" view counts them.
Readings are of catalog description text, not of teaching, syllabi or individual professors.

University of Tennessee-Knoxville by department (share of courses described from the left)

Department	Left-framed share	Courses
Women's & Gender Studies	30.8%	13	view
Ethnic & African American Studies	17.6%	34	view
Sociology	7.4%	94	view
Anthropology	3.3%	150	view
Philosophy	3.1%	64	view
Psychology	3.1%	128	view
Political Science	2.9%	103	view
Religious Studies	1.3%	79	view
History	0.5%	186	view
Art & Art History	0%	224	view
Economics	0%	110	view
English & Comparative Literature	0%	226	view

Lean (mean Framing score) is not published per department within a school; only the left-framed share is. Department rows carry no interval.

Details: exact rows, definitions and method

Name	Metric	Value	95% interval	n	scored
University of Tennessee-Knoxville	mean_bias_score	65.2	63.1 – 67.2	1,411	33
All 100 schools	mean_bias_score	67.5	67.4 – 67.7	124,290	10,124

Formula: SUM(bias_score) / COUNT(bias_score)
Interval: normal approximation: mean +/- 1.96 * sd / sqrt(n), sample sd (n-1); undefined when n < 2
Model / prompt / snapshot: gpt-5.6-sol · r12 (2026-10-16-le49-r12) · 6df50b10
Metric caveats: Scored courses only (L/R/B/C); N and I carry no score and are excluded, so n here is smaller than the group's course count. Scores are model readings of catalog description text against a fixed anchored definition, not teaching or syllabi. The interval covers sampling noise in the mean only; it does not represent model reading error. Every value carries a `method` label: exact_rows or histogram_midpoint.

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