March 28, 2026

EagleEye

A Newsletter for UMW Faculty and Staff

Davidson Publishes Essay on U.S. Allies and Partners

by

Professor of Political Science and International Affairs Jason Davidson

Professor of Political Science and International Affairs Jason Davidson

Professor of Political Science and International Affairs Jason Davidson, a nonresident senior fellow with the Transatlantic Security Initiative, Atlantic Council, and a Waple Professor, has published an essay on the difference between US allies and partners for the “Adults in a Room” series, which is affiliated with the Stimson Center’s Reimagining US Grand Strategy program. Published in an article titled “The Difference Between an Ally and a Partner” by Inkstick Media, the essay says in part, “U.S. allies are countries that the United States has made a peacetime commitment to defend against attack.” Read more.

Subramanian Talks About Touch on ‘With Good Reason’

by

Professor of Communication Sushma Subramanian

Professor of Communication Sushma Subramanian

Professor of Communication and Digital Studies Sushma Subramanian contributed to “My Pandemic Valentine,” which aired on With Good Reason radio. Two days after Sushma Subramanian got engaged, she moved to Virginia to teach, leaving her fiance behind. She tells us about the app that got them talking — and touching– across the distance. Listen to the show.

McDonald Comments on Lying Politicians for ‘Democracy Nerd’

by

Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Affairs Jared McDonald

Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Affairs Jared McDonald

Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Affairs Jared McDonald appeared in a segment titled “Do Voters Punish Lying Politicians?” for Democracy Nerds. “It’s not just the party label. There needs to be some sort of affective attachment,” McDonald said. “Trump is the leader of your party. This is a real politician, and so you’ve got skin in the game. If it’s some generic hypothetical Republican and you’re a Republican, you may not really feel that strong of an attachment.” Watch the segment.

Larus Comments on Chinese Balloons Over the U.S.

by

Professor Emerita of Political Science and International Affairs Elizabeth Larus

Professor Emerita of Political Science and International Affairs Elizabeth Larus

Elizabeth Freund Larus, Professor Emerita of Political Science and International Affairs, commented to WION news that China is using every tool in its kit to survey the US, including balloons. The U.S. needs to retrieve the remains of the balloons it shoots down, and show the world the goods. Access her commentary.

Professor Larus also commented to WION news, for a segment titled “Antony Blinken calls ‘Spy Balloon’ a clear violation of U.S. Sovereignty,” that the timing of China’s spy balloon appearance over the U.S. is curious, immediately preceding Secretary of State Blinken’s planned visit to Beijing and during China’s Lantern Festival, when thousands of lanterns are launched into the night sky. Watch the segment.

Other recent media mentions for Larus include:

Larus, a former Fulbright Scholar to Poland, commented to WION news that Biden’s trip to Poland is intended to signal resolve and unity but also to counter resistance to House Republicans who don’t want to continue to spend massive amounts of money on the war in Ukraine. WION news, Feb 10, 2023. Access her comments.

She commented to Vietnam News that new Chinese Ambassador Xie Feng has the opportunity to reset diplomatic relations with Washington, but given the US-China trade and chip war, China’s surveillance and theft of US corporate and government information, and tensions over Taiwan and the South China Sea, bilateral relations are not likely to improve in 2023. Comments begin at 12:30 minutes into the program.

Moon Receives Mention in ‘Falls Church News-Press’

by

Professor of History and American Studies Krystyn Moon

Professor of History and American Studies Krystyn Moon

Professor of History and American Studies Krystyn Moon received a media mention in the article “Racist F.C. Past Unveiled In Land Covenants” published in the Falls Church News-Press. The publication set out to examine property deeds (stored in databases not in the city or nearby Arlington but at the Fairfax County Courthouse), the article states, but the work was already underway by a group of academics coordinated by Moon, along with Marymount University sociology professor Janine DeWitt and housing attorney Kristin Neun. Read more.

Rao Referenced in ‘Wall Street Journal’ Discussion of ChatGPT

by

Professor of Communication and Chair of the Department of Communication and Digital Studies Anand Rao

Professor of Communication and Chair of the Department of Communication and Digital Studies Anand Rao

Professor of Communication and Chair of the Department of Communication and Digital Studies Anand Rao contributed to a Wall Street Journal article on ChatGPT titled “Professors Turn to ChatGPT to Teach Students a Lesson; The powerful paper-writing chatbot presents an educational challenge: Ban it or build on it?” published on Jan. 25, 2023. Rao discussed the impact the generative AI tools, like ChatGPT, will have on knowledge production. Read more.

The article also was published in Elite News. “It really seems to change the nature of knowledge production itself,” Rao said. Read more.

Rao also contributed to a webinar titled “Generative AI and ChatGPT: The Short and Long-Term Impacts on Education” on Wednesday, Jan. 18. His presentation focused on higher education and included discussion of how ChatGPT could be used by students to cheat, but also opportunities for use of ChatGPT in the classroom to support the student writing process. He also outlined broader concerns about generative AI, including algorithmic bias and AI’s use of other artist’s creative work. Discover information about the webinar, including a soon-to-be-released recording.

Whalen Shares Thoughts on ‘Last of Us’ With ‘Wired’

by

Associate Professor of Digital Studies Zach Whalen

Associate Professor of Digital Studies Zach Whalen

Associate Professor Zach Whalen in the Department of Communication and Digital Studies contributed to a piece titled “The Last of Us: The Musical Transposition in the Series is a Revolution.” Whalen suggested that for both the game world and its characters to be as believable as the cinematic, they need distinct theme music attributed to locations and different characters within the game, the so-called sound theme or leitmotif, capable of recalling the narrated character through the chanting of short and impalpable notes. Read more in Wired and on Blog Flavio Perrone.

Rycroft Co-authors Book on Income Inequality

by

Professor of Economics Robert Rycroft has co-authored Income Inequality in America: A Reference Handbook, published by ABC-CLIO. Inequality is the economic issue of our time. The United States is an extraordinarily affluent society compared to most others in the world today and to all others throughout human history, and that is news worth celebrating. But the dark underbelly of this news is that not everyone has shared in the prosperity, and inequality has only become more pronounced in recent decades. That is news worth lamenting and ought to command our full attention.