Lynn Hampton
Department of Sociology and Anthropology

Hi, I'm Lynn Hampton and I'm one!—one of Tennessee's Best.

I am an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Middle Tennessee State University. My research areas include social inequality, social capital, and sociology of education. I teach courses in Introduction to Sociology, Social Problems, and Social Inequality.

I began my service at MTSU in the Fall of 2004 as a Geier Dissertation Fellow. I was completing my Ph.D. in sociology at Vanderbilt University, and I came to MTSU because of a dissertation fellowship. The fellowship opportunity provided me with financial resources to complete the dissertation and allowed me the opportunity to teach one class in my department. In the fall of 2005, I began my position as an assistant professor in the department.

I enjoy the opportunity to work with and mentor undergraduate students. My research focuses on social capital and I have actively worked to cultivate relationships with students both inside and outside the classroom. My engagement with students helps stimulate my own thinking and helps foster my scholarly research agenda.

The best part of my job is having the opportunity to witness my students develop both intellectually, personally, and professionally. I appreciate the fact that I have an opportunity to work so closely with students and to play an active part in helping each one of them reach their life goals. I take my role as a teacher educator very seriously. I work hard in the classroom to help my students connect broader sociological principles to their concrete life experiences. I give my students the opportunity to articulate how they see the world and then help them connect their world view to broader sociological principles and paradigms.

One of the highlights of my career at MTSU occurred in spring 2007, when I taught my first section of Social Inequality. One of the course requirements that semester was for students to do an oral and visual presentation documenting some aspect of social inequality in a concrete setting. The presentations of my students were outstanding. In fact, one group presentation helped to initiate a student-led organization on campus devoted to raising the level of awareness of the racial genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan. My students applied what they were learning in the classroom context to bring about social change both at the national and international level. That was a great teaching moment!

If you are considering employment at MTSU, I really think you should be aware of our incredibly diverse campus with students representing a variety of racial, ethnic, social class, and age populations. It makes the dialogue and the discourse in the classroom very enlightening and engaging for everyone. It is very exciting to teach at an undergraduate institution where there is so much diversity among the student body. Because we have students coming from so many different backgrounds and life circumstances, it makes classroom interaction and engagement with students quite stimulating. I believe that it is the size and diversity of our undergraduate student population sets MTSU apart from other schools.

Come join our diverse campus and be one of Tennessee's Best at Middle Tennessee State University. Like me, you'll be glad you did.