Inaugural symposium on guns in society aims to build bridges across perspectives

Few issues in America today are as polarizing as the debate on guns. In an effort to cultivate a deeper understanding of this complex issue, Arizona State University is hosting its first Guns in Society Symposium from Jan. 30 to Jan. 31 on the Downtown Phoenix campus.

The inaugural event will gather scholars, researchers and community leaders to examine the complexities of gun culture in America while exploring pathways for productive dialogue.

Organized around the theme “Elevating the Gun Debate, Bridging Gun Divides,” the symposium will move beyond the binary framing of gun rights versus gun control. Instead, it will examine the nuanced ways guns intersect with identity, governance and society at large. Topics will include armed self-defense, gun violence, trauma, social movements, the role of art in shaping perceptions of guns and environmental justice related to firearms.

“We want to look at gun culture and really try to get people to think beyond the ‘either-or’ debate as we often know it to be – to see guns as a much more complicated thread that traverses so many areas of US society,” says Jennifer Carlson,  a 2022 MacArthur Fellow.

The event will feature keynotes from scholars, a screening of “The Tennessee 11” — a documentary that follows a bipartisan group’s effort to develop consensus-based gun policy proposals — and a panel with the authors of “Murder Town, USA.”

It will also feature projects from graduate-level scholars participating in the BRIDGS (Bringing Research and Innovation Into the Debate on Guns in Society) Emergent Scholars Fellowship. Students, who hail from institutions like Princeton, Northwestern and Rutgers universities, will present projects ranging from examining the cultural dynamics of gun shows to studying the impact of firearms on community relationships.

Examining guns in American life

The group putting the symposium together reflects the university’s goals of advancing research that addresses societal challenges. It aims to foster dialogue and understanding through research initiatives, public events and community engagement.

Carlson, who was recently elected to the National Academy of Medicine, is quickly growing the group as a catalyst for innovative scholarship and public dialogue on one of the country’s most polarizing topics. In recent months she has launched the podcast “Guns Unpacked,” which pulls in scholars nationwide for deep discussion on gun culture. Additionally, she received a $192,710 grant in 2024 from the Russell Sage Foundation for her project “Building a Qualitative Data Infrastructure on How Guns Shape Political Life.”

The upcoming symposium will build on this existing and ever-growing work by creating a space for scholars, practitioners and community members to contribute their ideas.

“We’re not here to tell people what to think,” Carlson says. “We’re here to help them think through what they do, to create spaces for understanding and possibly even consensus.”