Courses – Center for the Study of Guns and Society

Wesleyan University offers several courses associated with the center on topics around guns and society. Explore course descriptions and more below.

Guns and Society
Fall 2022, Fall 2023 Taught by Jennifer Tucker This course examines the changing place of guns in U.S. society, from the colonial era through to the present day. Readings and discussions consider guns both as material objects involved in specific ways of life and as symbols and sites of contested […]
God & Guns: the History of Faith and Firearms in America
Spring 2023, Spring 2024 Taught by Joseph Slaughter 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. Beginning with an […]
War and Society
Fall 2022 Taught by Peter Rutland While most societies condemn physical violence between individuals, they condone and encourage collectively organized violence in the form of warfare. War is obscene, yet all modern societies have engaged in warfare. This course will examine war as a social, political, and historical phenomenon. We […]

Guns and Society
Fall 2022, Fall 2023 Taught by Jennifer Tucker This course examines the changing place of guns in U.S. society, from the colonial era through to the present day. Readings and discussions consider guns both as material objects involved in specific ways of life and as symbols and sites of contested […]
Reenacting Justice: Documentary Theater Workshop on U.S. Guns and Gun Violence
Spring 2024 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. These reenactments are based on testimonies and documents collected that interpolate the legal issues around guns […]
God & Guns: the History of Faith and Firearms in America
Spring 2023, Spring 2024 Taught by Joseph Slaughter 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. Beginning with an […]