Light Over Heat #36: Sociology of Guns Seminar, Year 8

In this week’s Light Over Heat video, I talk about teaching my Sociology of Guns seminar at Wake Forest University for the 8^th consecutive year.

For much more information about previous versions of the course and to follow course developments this semester, see the collected posts on this blog.

New “Light Over Heat” videos are released on YouTube every Wednesday, so please surf over to my YouTube channel and SUBSCRIBE to follow, RING THE BELL to receive notifications, and SHARE so others can learn about this work.

Light Over Heat #35: Top 10 Books on Guns in America – #1 to #5

In last week’s and this week’s Light Over Heat videos, I lay out my Top 10 books on guns in America. This week I cover books #5 to #1.

See below for the list and links.

Light Over Heat #34: Top 10 Books on Guns in America – #6 to #10

In this week’s and next week’s Light Over Heat videos, I lay out my Top 10 books on guns in America. This week I cover books #10 to #6.

See below for the list and links.

Call for Papers on “Firearm Markets, Marketing, and Society”

I have published a few articles/book chapters on gun advertising. My first was an analysis of the rise of Gun Culture 2.0 as reflected in The American Rifleman. I replicated that study using Guns magazine. And most recently examined the portrayal of women (and men) in the Rifleman. If we expand from advertising per se to the marketing of Gun Culture 2.0, then I can add my study of the USCCA’s Concealed Carrry Expo to the list.

Because most analyses of gun advertising are impressionistic (and politically motivated), I get quite a few calls from the media about it. Although I welcome the opportunity to correct misunderstandings about the content and effect of gun ads (e.g., Bushmaster’s “Man Card” campaign), I welcome even more a recent “call for papers” I received from a marketing professor, Terrence Witkowski.

Witkowski is guest editing a special issue of the Journal of Macromarketing on “Firearm Markets, Marketing, and Society.” See the full call for papers. The submission deadline is 28 February 2023.

Light Over Heat #33: The Professor Reviews 4 Books on the NRA

In this week’s Light Over Heat video, I discuss four books on the National Rifle Association (NRA) in light of two persistent myths.

First, that the NRA was a benign, apolitical sportsmans organization prior to the Revolt at Cincinnati in 1977.

Second, that the NRA is “the most powerful lobby in America.” A PBS Frontline episode in 2020 managed to highlight both.

Light Over Heat #32: Talkin’ ‘Bout an Insurrection

After the January 6^th storming of the US Capitol Building, I knew that gun owners and gun culture would be blamed. But from the start I have questioned how widely gun owners in general supported this clumsy coup.

In this week’s Light Over Heat video I consider some recent survey data that addresses the question of gun owner support for the storming of the Capitol Building, and for political violence more generally.

Thumbnail image: TapTheForwardAssist, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons