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Changing the Terms of Debate about Gun Violence: Mental Illness, Mass Shootings, and the Politics of American Firearms

Texas A&M University - MSC Ballroom, Room 2300E 275 Joe Routt Boulevard, Room 2300E, College Station, TX, United States

Four assumptions frequently arise in the aftermath of mass shootings in the United States: (1) that mental illness causes gun violence, (2) that psychiatric diagnosis can predict gun crime, (3) that shootings represent the deranged acts of mentally ill loners, and (4) that gun control “won’t prevent” such incidents. Professor Metzl will address how assumptions about gun violence incorrectly link to stereotypes of mental illness and race in the United States. These issues become obscured when mass shootings come to stand in for all gun crime, and when “mentally ill” ceases to be a medical designation and becomes a sign of violent threat. Professor Metzl will also discuss how and why gun violence is a pertinent topic for the growing field of Health Humanities.

Free

Gun Policy in Trump’s America

Institute for Public Knowledge 20 Cooper Square, 5th floor, New York, NY, United States

The Institute for Public Knowledge at NYU invites you to join us for a panel discussion with leading legislators, activists, journalists, and academics to debate gun policy and it’s everyday effects under the most overtly pro-gun administration in modern memory.

Free

Mental Illness, Mass Shootings, and the Politics of American Firearms: Changing the Terms of the Debate

Toland Hall Auditorium 533 Parnassus Avenue, room 142, San Francisco, CA, United States

Four assumptions frequently arise in the aftermath of mass shootings in the US: (1) that mental illness causes gun violence, (2) that psychiatric diagnosis can predict gun crime, (3) that shootings represent the deranged acts of mentally ill loners, and (4) that effective gun control laws will not prevent such incidents. Professor Metzl will discuss how these assumptions about gun violence are incorrectly linked to stereotypes of mental illness and race in the United States. These issues become obscured when mass shootings are framed as representative of all gun crime, and when “mentally ill” ceases to be a medical designation and becomes encoded as violent threat.

Gun Violence Prevention: A Community Conversation

Light Hall - Vanderbilt University Medical Center 1301 Medical Center Dr, Nashville, TN, United States

Firearms have become increasingly prevalent in daily life over the past decade, as states like Tennessee loosen regulations governing most aspects of gun sales, purchases, and public carry privileges. This expansion raises a number of questions that an expert panel of academics, politicians, and activists will address...

Mental Illness, Mass Shootings, & the Politics of American Firearms | UC Davis Behavioral Health Center of Excellence

UC Davis Health Education Building, Lecture Hall 1222 4610 X Street, Sacramento, CA, United States

Four assumptions frequently arise in the aftermath of mass shootings in the United States: (1) that mental illness causes gun violence, (2) that psychiatric diagnosis can predict gun crime, (3) that shootings represent the deranged acts of mentally ill loners, and (4) that gun control “won’t prevent” such incidents. Professor Metzl will address how assumptions about gun violence incorrectly link to stereotypes of mental illness and race in the United States.

When the Shooter is White: Race, Mental Illness, and the Politics of American Firearms | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Levis Faculty Center, Room 300 919 West Illinois Street, Urbana, IL, United States

In this talk, Prof. Metzl addresses how the automatic assumption that white shooters are isolated, deranged individuals conveys the subtle message that whiteness in general, and white masculinity specifically, is not connected to any larger cultures, networks or ideologies that might foment violence.