What are firearms? How did they impact on the history of European societies? What are the more promising research approaches for studying them? Firearms hold profound implications for European societies, influencing international relations, the diffusion of violence, and State sovereignty. This workshop will convene researchers examining themes such as the relationship between European States and guns, global efforts to regulate arms markets, the role of firearms in changing the societal perception of violence, and the semantic nuances defining these instruments. Through exploration of diverse research methodologies, the workshop aims to highlight the significance of firearms as both a subject of scholarly inquiry and a lens for examining critical aspects of contemporary history, shedding new light on the European past – one trigger pull at a time.

Presentation

What are firearms? How did they impact on the history of European societies? What are the more promising research approaches for studying them? Firearms hold profound implications for European societies, influencing international relations, the diffusion of violence, and State sovereignty. This workshop will convene researchers examining themes such as the relationship between European States and guns, global efforts to regulate arms markets, the role of firearms in changing the societal perception of violence, and the semantic nuances defining these instruments. Through exploration of diverse research methodologies, the workshop aims to highlight the significance of firearms as both a subject of scholarly inquiry and a lens for examining critical aspects of contemporary history, shedding new light on the European past – one trigger pull at a time.

Programm

4^th June 2024

9.00 Welcome Breakfast

9.30 Welcome Address - Caroline Bertonèche (Professor of British Literature and Head of the International Excellence in the Humanities program– Université Grenoble Alpes)

Introduction of the Workshop - Andrea Azzarelli (Postdoc Fellow – MACI – Université Grenoble Alpes)

First session

• 9.45 Ned Richardson-Little, ZZF, Potsdam, Illicit Arms Trafficking and the Blurry Global Boundaries of Germany

10.15 Q&A

• 10.30 Simon Ball, University of Leeds, Guns as Razor Blades

11.00 Q&A

11.15 Coffee Break         

• 11.30 Timothée Celeyron, Université Grenoble Alpes, The Lexicon of Weapons in Historical Chronicles: How Can Phraseology Define a Textual Genre?

12.00 Q&A

Second session

• 14.30 Assumpta Castillo Cañiz, Universitat de Girona, Arming (Only) Upright Citizens: Sources and Methodologies for Addressing Civilian Disarmament and Rearmament by Public Authorities (Spain, 19^th-20^th Centuries)

15.00 Q&A

• 15.15 Alexandre Dupont, Université de Strasbourg, IUF, Political Internationalisms and Arms Smuggling: Productive Entanglements

15.45 Q&A

16.00 Coffee break

Third session

• 16.15 Matteo Millan, Università di Padova, Guns in the Hands of Law-abiding Civilians: Gun Control, Gun Cultures and the Making of Modern Europe

16.45 Q&A

• 17.00 Andrea Azzarelli, Université Grenoble Alpes, Navigating Violence: Police Forces and Guns in European Ports (France, England, Italy; 1890-1939)

17.30 Q&A

5^th June 2024

9.30 Welcome Breakfast

10.00 Open Debate

Collective open discussion for all participants, introduced by a brief summary of the presentations