Weapons culture: innovative seminar to understand foreign worlds of meaning

How do we understand foreign worlds of meaning? It is essential for social workers to remain open to the everyday understanding of distant worlds of meaning.

However, it is difficult to implement this methodically and incorporate it into social work studies(Opens in a new tab)  in the Faculty of Applied Social Studies(Opens in a new tab) . The seminar "Gun Culture" by Prof. Dr. Jochem Kotthaus(Opens in a new tab)  offered students the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the unfamiliar world of sport shooters not only theoretically or visually, but also to approach it as practically as possible.

Thanks to a generous donation from Frankonia Dortmund and the kind support of the staff at the shooting center in Bochum, the seminar participants were able to spend an entire afternoon immersed in the world of shooting sports.

Jessica reports how many students felt: "I had never had any contact with shooting before, so the experience of being able to go to a shooting range and feel the power and force of the weapon when shooting was all the more interesting and exciting. And she adds: "I would never have thought that I would enjoy shooting a gun. Now I understand a bit more the marksmen who live for this sport." Hannah emphasizes the importance of direct experience: "The experience at the shooting range helped me to overcome my prejudices against marksmen." The students were enthusiastic about the experience.

"I realized how much responsibility is involved in handling a firearm. It requires the utmost attention and concentration to handle it safely and in a controlled manner," Canan reflects.

The seminar is to be repeated next year.