• E4J University Module Series: Firearms

• Module 1: Introduction to Firearms, their Availability, Illicit Trafficking and Criminal Use

• Introduction and learning outcomes

• Key issues

  • Framing the issue of firearms and the consequences of their illicit trafficking and use
  • Direct impact of firearms
  • Indirect impacts of firearms on states or communities
  • International and national responses and approaches to addressing the problem of illicit trafficking and access of firearms
  • References

• Exercises

• Possible class structure

• Core reading

• Advanced reading

• Student assessment

• Additional teaching tools

• First published in October 2019

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   This module is a resource for lecturers   

 

Possible class structure

 

This section contains recommendations for a teaching sequence and timing intended to achieve learning outcomes through a three-hour class. The lecturer may wish to disregard or shorten some of the segments below to give more time to other elements, including introduction, icebreakers, conclusion or short breaks. The structure could also be adapted for shorter or longer classes, given that the class durations vary across countries.

 

Hour One - Introduction

• Pre-class activity (time varies): Assign students to watch the NATO video on the impact of firearms on society and attempts to prevent their misuse and mishandling (6 minutes, 24 seconds) NATO: Small Arms are Real Weapons of Mass Destruction? Students should be prepared to give a brief report on it and a list of questions it generated. In addition, select a news source that can reveal incidents involving firearms/SALW.

• (In-class) Ice-breaker (10-15 minutes): In small groups, students give a short brief on a video that they viewed and the questions about the role of weapons in violence it raised for them. List the questions on the board or Google doc.

• Lecture (45-50 minutes): Give a lecture about the context of the firearms issue based on the Module.Hand out a list of the basic negative consequences associated with firearms. Have students select a reading from the list of core readings.

 

Hour Two - Consequences of the illicit use of firearms

• Pre-class activity (time varies): Have each student select a consequence or negative effect associated with firearms/SALW and find an example in their own community or country. Be prepared to discuss at the beginning of the second hour.

• (In-class) Ice-breaker (10-15 minutes): In small groups, students give a short brief on the consequence/negative effect they studied.

• Lecture (45-50 minutes): Give a lecture about the negative consequences based on the Module narrative.

 

Hour Three - Approaches to addressing armed violence

• In-class Exercise (5-10 minutes): Ask students to consider whether firearms "cause" the specific consequences covered in the Module.

• Lecture (20 minutes): Outline the approaches to addressing armed violence as outlined in the Module narrative.

• Exercise (20-30 minutes): Determine the relationship between a country's rank in the Human Development Index and Indices of peace, violence, homicides, etc. What can you conclude about the bottom fifty countries in the HDI and the fifty most violent countries? If the rankings do not exactly match, develop explanations, for example, as to why a violent country is not too low on the HDI, or vice versa.
• • UNODC Homicide Data
  • United Nations Human Development Index
  • World Bank Governance Indicator - Political Stability and Absence of Violence

 

Next: Core reading

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