2017 was a terrific year for my research on American gun culture. I didn’t accomplish everything I had hoped, but I did more than I could reasonably expect. Although I didn’t quite reach my goal of doubling this blog’s readership in 2017, I came pretty close. I have already written about my personal favorites and …
Last fall I was invited to contribute a short essay to the newsletter of the Medical Sociology section of the American Sociological Association. The editors asked me to write anything I wanted to about guns that would be helpful to medical sociologists studying the issue. While some sociologists call for a shift in the national …
I am very happy to report that my second academic article on gun culture was published today in the journal Sociology Compass (my first was on religion and gun ownership). Thanks to a generous grant from Wake Forest University’s ZSR Library and the Office of Research & Sponsored Programs, “The Sociology of U.S. Gun Culture” …
I love whisk(e)y. My love knows almost no boundaries. American, Canadian, Indian, Irish, Japanese, Scotch, Texas. Barley, corn, rye, wheat. Neat, rocks, mixed. To fuel my love I have been reading Reid Mitenbuler’s recent book, Bourbon Empire: The Past and Future of America’s Whiskey. Early on, Mitenbuler introduces the first alcohol distiller among the British …
I recently completed the Massad Ayoob Group’s MAG-40 course, “Armed Citizens’ Rules of Engagement,” co-sponsored by Derby Guns of Scottsdale (shout out to Kate and Jim Kreuger!). This is the course Ayoob used to teach under the auspices of the Lethal Force Institute in New Hampshire. (A review of the LFI course written in 1999 …
For the first 42 years of life, I had never even handled a real gun, much less shot one. My experience was limited to shooting BB guns as a teenagers. We would usually shoot at cans, but one day I took aim at a bird that was too far away to hit, pulled the trigger, …
I am preparing to depart for the Republic of Texas tomorrow to meet with my church security Collaborative Inquiry Team (another sociologist and two pastors) and attend a national conference on church security. Each of us on the team shared something we wrote to help the others understand where we are coming from as we … Continue reading
Earlier this year, I put out a call for resources on protecting houses of worship for a possible research project on church/congregational security. I received so many suggestions that I was able to create two lists: Training Organizations, Groups and Individuals Other Resources (conferences, books, DVDs, articles, etc.) I am happy to report that the … Continue reading
Reading The New Yorker magazine recently — or, rather, listening to it on Audible because I don’t have much time to read — I was interested to come across a story called “Active Shooter” by humorist David Sedaris. Half-listening, my ears perked up when I heard that he had flown to Greensboro, NC and was … Continue reading
Last year I was invited to serve as one of the “critics” in an “author-meets-critics” session at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association in Montreal. The author in question is someone whose work I admire, Jennifer Carlson, so I gladly accepted. Putting together my list of top books on guns in America, I … Continue reading
Following my post on organizing my gun culture library, here are my top picks for books on guns in America. Some of these books are at the top of the list because they resonate with my personal and scholarly interests. They are not necessarily of interest to anyone and everyone. That said, these 9 books … Continue reading
I recently posted a picture to social media of the bookshelf in my office that I recently rearranged because it is (nearly) full of books on gun culture and related topics. It received more engagement than an average post of mine, including requests for an inventory of all the books and for a Top 5 … Continue reading
Facebook kindly reminded me yesterday morning that 8 years ago I was in Columbus, Georgia with my son for a tennis tournament. Passing time between matches by flipping through the channels on the TV, I made an important discovery. By dumb luck, I landed on a History Channel marathon showing back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back episodes of the inaugural … Continue reading
