Research.
Innovative Teaching.
Scholarly Insight.
Dedicated to interdisciplinary humanities study and teaching on the social and cultural history of firearms.
Research.
Advancing critical research on firearms, history, & society.
A New Frontier in Firearms Research
Since its founding in 2022, the Center for the Study of Guns & Society (CSGS) has secured over $1.3 million in grants and private donations—fueling groundbreaking research and fostering academic inquiry into the cultural and social history of firearms. CSGS is committed to enriching interdisciplinary humanities scholarship and education through rigorous analysis.
Current Research Projects
Firearms Use and Regulation in the 18th and 19th Centuries:
Modeling the Application of Historical Methods for Law and Policy in the Bruen Era
Explore Project
Engineering Safety into U.S. Firearms, 1750-2010:
Inventions, Manufacturers, Outcomes, and Implications
Explore Project
Developing and Evaluating a Civilian Arms Lethality Index for Firearms:
A Research/Planning Meeting Proposal
Explore Project
Colt Firearms Manufacturing in London
Joseph Slaughter travels to London as part of his project on 19th century firearm manufacturing.
Explore Project
Who We Are
Exploring firearms through a scholarly lens
The Center for the Study of Guns & Society explores the cultural and historical role of firearms through rigorous, humanities-based research. We foster informed, evidence-driven dialogue.
About UsCSGS Supports
- An annual conference for professional historians
- An annual convening of local museum professionals
- An annual undergraduate student research conference
- Student research opportunities
- Ongoing collaborations with and outreach to other educational institutions, museums, and schools
Courses
Wesleyan University offers several courses associated with the center on topics around guns and society. Explore course descriptions and more below.
2024-2025
Visualizing Firearms History: An Applied Quantitative and Archival Approach for a Project-Based Exploration
This project-based course provides a unique cross-disciplinary opportunity to study important historical questions surrounding firearms.
Explore Course
2024-2025
Reenacting Justice: Guns in America
Combining oral history, visual storytelling methods, and documentary performance in a workshop format, this course will reenact court transcripts and contemporary and historic testimonies related to guns and gun violence in America.
Explore Course
2024-2025
God & Guns: The History of Faith & Firearms in America
This course examines the history of firearms and religion in the United States, ultimately seeking to understand the significance of gun culture within American Christianity and the powerful “God & Guns” story at the core of many Americans’ identity.
Explore CourseCollaboration
Conferences, Projects, and More from our Colleagues and Partners
CSGS actively engages with numerous colleagues across the country and internationally. We appreciate conversations about how to build the growing field of the cultural and social history of firearms through creative collaborations. CSGS is committed to advancing interdisciplinary humanities scholarship.
CSGS Blog
Wesleyan students and nonprofits collaborate on research thanks to the Troy and de Wit Grant Fund for the Study of Guns & Society
Since announcing the Troy and de Wit Grant Fund for the Study of Guns &...
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18
May
May
A “Vital Intellectual Community:” Students from Wesleyan and beyond gather to share research about the relationship between guns and American society
Building a curriculum that encourages students to use diverse research methods to understand the relationship...
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18
May
May
Catherine Fletcher releases new book
Catherine Fletcher recently published her new book, The Firearm Revolution: From Renaissance Italy to the...
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18
May
May
CSGS postdoctoral researchers pursue new opportunities
Brennan Gardner Rivas and Joseph Stoltz, who both served as postdoctoral researchers, have accepted new...
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18
May
May
Evan Turiano named new CSGS associate director
Evan Turiano, visiting assistant professor of public policy and law at Trinity College (Hartford), has...
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18
May
May
Kelsey Hanson Woodruff joins CSGS in July as new postdoctoral faculty researcher
CSGS is pleased to announce that Kelsey Hanson Woodruff will join the center in July...
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18
May
May
Wesleyan University Press Launches Sight Lines, a New Book Series on Firearms, Society, and Culture, in Partnership with CSGS
April 29, 2026 Wesleyan University Press is pleased to announce the launch of Sight Lines,...
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29
Apr
Apr
Greater Middletown Military Museum – Paid Opportunities for Wesleyan Undergraduates
Greater Middletown Military Museum – Paid Opportunities for Wesleyan Undergraduates Support provided by The Troy and...
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27
Mar
Mar
Stay Connected to the Conversation
Whether you’re a scholar, student, museum professional, or supporter—there’s a place for you in the CSGS community. Help us advance nonpartisan, humanities-based scholarship on firearms and American life—learn how you can get involved.