Jennifer Carlson

Carlson is a 2022 MacArthur Fellow and professor in the Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics. She studies the social import and impact of guns in the U.S., including gun politics, gun culture, gun law enforcement and gun violence. She is the author of “Citizen Protectors: The Everyday Politics of Guns in an Age of Decline” (Oxford University Press, 2015), “Policing the Second Amendment: Guns Law Enforcement, and the Politics of Race” (Princeton University Press, 2020) and “Merchants of the Right: Gun Sellers and the Crisis of American Democracy” (Princeton University Press, 2023). She is currently working on a large-scale project on gun violence survivors. The MacArthur awarding committee notes: "With her balanced and rigorous approach, Carlson is a sought-after voice on the nuances of gun culture in the United States. Carlson’s insights into how gun ownership has become a highly charged political issue offer a potential path toward overcoming the entrenched social divisions that characterize gun policy discussions."

Carlson was elected a member of the National Academy of Medicine in 2024, recognized for leadership in fostering understanding of how guns shape American lives, including those who survive gun violence, police who enforce the country’s complex gun laws, gun retailers on the front lines of gun purchasing, and the people who own and carry guns.

Photos by John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.