Giullia Thomaz is a PhD candidate at Utrecht University, in the Netherlands, taking part of the Making Sense of Communities of Arms (ARMIES) project. For more information about her scholarly work, visit her UU employment page.

Q1: What is your background and how did you come to this project?
My original training is in International Relations and Political Science. However, since becoming involved in academic research as an undergraduate, I have focused on themes of violence and identity through sociological and anthropological lenses. During my M.A. at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, I examined the socio-technical implications of TikTok in the context of the war in Ukraine. This research allowed me to explore how the broader lexicon of security, including firearms use and training, becomes integrated into everyday practices. Rather than being treated as banal objects, firearms often emerged in my previous investigations as devices associated with specific communities, values, and forms of belonging. The ARMIES project therefore represents an ideal opportunity not only to further explore these intersections, but also to examine how such factors play a significant role within sports shooting communities in my home country.

Q2: What kind of questions drive your research?
What are Brazilians talking about when they talk about guns?
What role can firearms play in how communities praise their heritage?

Q3: What are your 3 most essential fieldwork items?
My camera, my safety earplugs and my notebook.