Civilized Violence: Lessons from Gun Schools

• In Event: 3257 - Contemporary and Enduring Violence

Abstract

Drawing on three years of fieldwork at firearms training schools, this talk examines how people train their minds and bodies to use guns. Building off of Norbert Elias, I argue that the training at these schools centers around the development of etiquette and manners for killing another human being – in other words producing a “civilized” kind of violence which defines itself as being moral, ethical, and indeed, not even violent.

Author

• Harel Shapira, University of Texas at Austin