Episode 7: A Genealogy of Gun Violence
Teaching Aid
Teaching Aid for Episode 7: A Genealogy of Gun Violence
Teachers: please read the introduction to these teaching aids first.
Pre-Listening Journal/Discussion Questions
If you were to design an image for the front cover of a journal about the most important inventions of modern times, what objects (or modes of making and knowing) would you include and why?
In the late 1580’s Giovanni Stradano took on a similar project in his design of the frontispiece for the Nova Reperta, or New Inventions of Modern Times. Take a look at his design. Which objects/inventions do you recognize? What might Stradano’s spatial arrangement of these objects on the page suggest about each invention’s relative importance?
Listening Guide
What image takes center-place in Giovanni Stradano’s frontispiece for the Nova Reperta? What does this suggest about the role of firearms in modern times?
Firearms and Gun Control in 14th-16th-century Italy [4:52-17:30]
How were the Italian Wars from 1494-1559 a turning point in the history of firearms? Who was being equipped with firearms at that time and for what purpose?
How did the technology of firearms change from 14th-century cannons, to 15th-century matchlock guns, to 16th-century wheellock guns? What feature of the wheellock made it especially problematic in the growing landscape of gun ownership in Europe?
Beyond warfare, where larger guns proved more accurate and useful, what other uses drove the production of small guns in the 16th century?
What major points did gun-control legislation tend to focus on in the post-conflict Italian states of the 1500s? How successful were the attempts at wide-spread regulation of firearms at this time?
Firearms and Gun Control in 17th-18th-century England [17:30-36:34]
Why did the production of firearms increase exponentially, especially in England, in the 1700s? What were the primary uses of guns during this time?
What family owned the biggest gun-making business in England at that time, and why is this surprising?
Why, in 1795, did Galton’s Quaker community suddenly challenge his participation in the production of firearms, even though they had not seen it as problematic in the preceding decades of his business? What had changed about the primary uses of guns and the way they were perceived in the late 1700s / early 1800s?
What arguments did Galton make in defense of his gun-making business, and how did those arguments foreshadow modern debates about gun control and about moral agency in increasingly complex economies?
Firearms and Gun Control Today [36:34-51:20]
By the late 20th century, which five countries had become the primary manufacturers of firearms worldwide? What ramifications does this seem to have had on gun regulation in those countries and why?
In New York State Rifle and Pistol Association vs. Bruen, which reasons were given in the Supreme Court’s majority opinion for striking down New York state gun regulations?
What potential effect might the “historical tradition” standard, established in the Bruen case, have on current gun laws in the US? How might this standard make it logically impossible to regulate newer kinds of weapons?
According to episode producer Chris Nygren and his guest Priya Satia, what does history suggest was the point of establishing the Second Amendment?
What has been the effect of strict gun regulations passed in Britain, Australia, and New Zealand in recent decades?
Post-Listening Journal/Discussion Questions
What is meant by some historians’ claim that “the dead hand of history” is slowly squeezing the life out of contemporary American society? Do you agree or disagree with the idea that, in terms of gun control, America needs some “modernity talk”--some willingness to break with the past and the past’s influence on our current legislation? Why or why not?
In this episode, we hear that “the sides of the debate [over gun control] haven’t really changed all that much, but the technologies have.” To what extent, if any, should the technological advances in contemporary firearms make a difference in our interpretation of the Second Amendment and its use as a guide in today’s gun legislation? Explain your thinking.
Links for Further Exploration
A pair of wheel lock pistols made in Germany, c. 1590. A wheel lock pistol from Italy, 16th-century. What does the appearance of these pistols suggest about their uses and significance?
“Are Guns Modern?”: This 6-minute animated video, produced by Genealogies of Modernity, explores the implications of advancing technology in firearms.
The Second Amendment, including summaries of related historical background and jurisprudence
“The True Meaning of ‘Keep and Bear Arms’”: This article from The Atlantic explores how 21st-century linguistic databases offer new insights on the debatable language of the Second Amendment.
Supreme Court Majority and Minority Opinions on New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen
