Gun Culture in America

fakultatywne

No prerequisites other than knowledge of English.

The course deals with the role of violence in American society. We study the cultural and historical context of violence known as “gun culture” and move to the study of various types of violence in American society: political assassinations, riots and street protests, school shootings, militia movement, and terrorism. We will also look at the way access to guns is regulated in American law and how interest groups approach the problem of guns in electoral politics (NRA).

A look at most spectacular instances of violence in American history

Theorizing about political violence

American values as political rights

The 2nd Amendment – legal debates

The 2nd Amendment – political debates

The 2nd Amendment and electoral politics

Political violence in America:

- presidential assassinations and their ramifications (Garfield, McKinley, JFK, Reagan)

- political assassinations:

- civil rights martyrs (King, Evers, Malcolm X)

- presidential hopefuls (RFK, Wallace)

American extremism in historical perspective:

- KKK

- weathermen and the 1960s

Violence and change in America: political protests in the 1960s (civil rights movements, anti-war movement

Domestic terrorism in the USA::

- the militia movement

-anti-abortion movement

Guns and violence in contemporary America – a final look at the changing patterns of the use of violence in American society – violence and popular culture – analysis of January 6, 2021 events on the Capitol Hill

Final reflections on the relations between guns and American culture

James Aho, The Politics of Righteousness, University of Washington Press

Marjolijn Bijlefeld, The Gun Control Debate, The New Press

Osha Davidson, Under Fire. NRA and the Battle for Gun Control, Henry Holt

Joel Dyer, Harvest of Rage, Westview

Additional Individual chapters or articles

Knowledge: Students will know the cultural sources of contemporary social phenomenon of violence. They will be able to recognize the social, economic, and cultural determinants of violence in democratic society. They will know how to analyze relevant social statistics. They will become familiar with legal arguments about guns in American society. They will learn how to read Supreme Court decisions. They will acquire ability to analyze legal opinions and understand the language in legal documents. They will become exposed to the significance of rights and legal instruments to safeguard them in a democratic society.

Skills: teamwork, designing a research project, execution of research, conceptualization and operationalization of social phenomena, presentation of research results, public speaking

Competence: They will become more aware of the concept of democratic citizenship

The goal of the class is to make students think creatively and apply proper methodology to write an original analytical essay based on the analysis of empirical data

Final grade will come from four components:

Analytical Term paper (at least 10 pages) – analysis of current conflicts regarding gun control. Prior to writing the paper students will discuss their research proposal in class.

Homeworks (3)

Presentation of arguments in a current debate about some aspect of gun control (2 students debating in public in front of the class).

Participation and attendance (2 absences allowed)