The public webinar version of my Wake Forest University Sociology of Guns seminar begins today. There are many ways to organize a class on guns in America. I have chosen to organize this one around James Wright’s important 1995 essay, “Ten Essential Observations on Guns in America.”

This post shows how the 7 weekly modules of the webinar map onto James Wright’s Observations.

To attend live or to receive the webinar recordings, Zoom Webinar registration is required via this registration link.

Even if you cannot attend the Monday night sessions, do not hesitate to register. I can enroll more than 500 “students” as long as more than 500 do not show up for any particular session (which seems unlikely).

Module (Date)	Topic	James Wright’s Observations
1 (Mar 25)	Guns are Normal, Normal People Use Guns	Observation 1: Half the households in the country own at least one gun.
		Observation 2: There are 200 million guns already in circulation in the United States, give or take a few tens of millions.
2 (Apr 1)	Gun Culture 2.0	Observation 3: Most of those 200 million guns are owned for socially innocuous sport and recreational purposes.
		Observation 4: Many guns are also owned for self-defense against crime…
3 (Apr 8)	The Concealed Carry Revolution	Observation 4: Many guns are also owned for self-defense against crime…
4 (Apr 15)	Defensive Gun Use and The Standard Model of Explaining the Irrationality of Defensive Gun Ownership	Observation 4: Many guns are also owned for self-defense against crime, and some are indeed used for that purpose; whether they are actually safer or not, many people certainly seem to feel safer when they have a gun.
5 (Apr 22)	Criminal Defensive Gun Ownership and Illegal Gun Markets	Observation 5: The bad guys do not get their guns through customary retail channels.
		Observation 6: The bad guys inhabit a violent world; a gun often makes a life-or-death difference to them.
6 (Apr 29)	Gun Violence and Prevention Strategies	Observation 7: Everything the bad guys do with their guns is already against the law.
		Observation 8: Demand creates its own supply.
7 (May 13)	Conclusions Regarding Guns and Gun Culture	Observation 9: Guns are neither inherently good nor inherently evil; guns, that is, do not possess teleology.
		Observation 10: Guns are important elements in our history and culture.