November 17, 2024

EagleEye

A Newsletter for UMW Faculty and Staff

Bonds Mentioned in FLS Article on Rt. 1 Name Change

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Associate Professor of Sociology Eric Bonds was mentioned in an article on the Fredericksburg City Council’s resolution to change the name of Jefferson Davis Highway, a measure that was approved 6-1. The General Assembly will discuss the name change at a special session in August. History and American Studies Associate Professor Will Mackintosh has also been a driving force behind the current effort, Bonds said.

Bonds and two students in his political sociology class had asked City Council to make the change because of Davis’ role in the Civil War and the fact that he’d owned more than 100 slaves during his lifetime.

The request evolved out of Bonds’ desire for the students to do a community involvement project that would help them develop democracy skills and not simply vote in an election and then tune out. The class overwhelmingly voted on the renaming project, and researched Davis and the history of the naming of the highway after him. Read more.

Bonds, Students Speak at City Council Meeting on Highway Renaming

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Associate Professor of Sociology Eric Bonds

Associate Professor of Sociology Eric Bonds and his students recently spoke at a Fredericksburg City Council meeting to discuss renaming the stretch of Route 1 that runs by the University of Mary Washington, according to an article in The Free Lance-Star.

The name, due to its associations with the Confederacy and slavery, has come under fire in several other localities in recent years. In 2016, UMW Assistant Professor of Sociology Eric Bonds and two students in his political sociology class asked City Council during one of its meetings to rename the highway because of Davis’ role in the Civil War and the fact that he’d owned more than 100 slaves during his lifetime.

The request evolved out of his desire for the students to do a community involvement project that would help them develop democracy skills and not simply vote in an election and then tune out. The class overwhelming voted on this project, and researched Davis and the history of the naming of the highway after him. Read more.

Bonds Co-authors Op-Ed on Climate Change for The Free Lance-Star

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Associate Professor of Sociology Eric Bonds

Associate Professor of Sociology Eric Bonds and Rebecca Rubin, president and CEO of Marstel-Day, an environmental consulting firm, published an op-ed in The Free Lance-Star on what the Fredericksburg area can do to combat climate change:

 

Marstel-Day President and CEO Rebecca Rubin

Marstel-Day President and CEO Rebecca Rubin

YOU can regularly see it in the news reported in the Free Lance-Star and other newspapers: climate change is remaking our world. Fredericksburg urgently needs to develop a climate plan in response.

This effort should include a plan that would both reduce our city’s carbon emissions (which help propel global warming) and enable adaption to impacts that are inevitable—such as lethal heat, and air- and water-borne diseases—given that a certain amount of warming is already locked into our climate system.

Such a strategy would both respond to climate change risks and prevent them from worsening. Read more. 

Bonds Publishes Research Article on Civilian Impacts of Iraq War

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Associate Professor of Sociology Eric Bonds

Eric Bonds, Associate Professor of Sociology, recently published an article in the journal Social Currents on the civilian impacts of U.S. military violence during the Iraq War. The article, entitled “Callous Cruelty and Counterinsurgency: Civilian Victimization and Compensation in U.S.-Occupied Iraq,” is based on an analysis of Iraqi requests for monetary payments after suffering losses of property and loved ones during the war. The files depict the routine nature of civilian harm in Iraq, and the most common ways by which U.S. military action killed civilians. Finally, the documents show that the U.S. military compensation program was administered in a way that frequently re-inscribed, rather than diminished, the callous cruelty of counterinsurgency war.

Bonds Publishes Article on Violence in Iraq and Syria

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Eric Bonds, associate professor of sociology, published an article entitled “Humanitized Violence: Targeted Killings and Civilian Deaths in the U.S. War Against the Islamic State.”  The article draws upon a qualitative content analysis of human rights reports, newspaper accounts, and U.S. military statements to describe the ascendancy of “humanitized violence” as a form of brutality that utilizes precision weaponry, and that which is frequently critiqued on technical grounds of whether or not its use conforms to international humanitarian law, but not on questions of morality or ultimate efficacy.  The article is in Current Sociology, a publication of the International Sociological Association.

SAC Meeting, Chili Cook Off Set

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February SAC Meeting – The first SAC meeting of the new year will take place on Thursday February 15th at 1PM in the Colonnade Room (315) of the University Center.  Our Guest Speakers will be Dr. Eric Bonds, Associate Professor Sociology & Anthropology and Faculty Co-chair of the President’s Council on Sustainability (PCS) and Taryn Lemmon, Student Co-chair of the PCS.  Formed in 2009, the President’s Council on Sustainability (PCS) consists of faculty, staff and students and plays a critical role in shaping administrative goals and objectives relating to university sustainability.  Eric and Taryn will give an overview of the council and touch upon some of its prior accomplishments as well as its goals for the future.  You do NOT have to be a member of SAC to attend monthly meetings.

4th Annual Willy Nilly Chili Cook Off!  SAVE THE DATE!  The 4th Annual Willy Nilly Chili Cook Off will take place on Tuesday March 6th from 11:30am – 1PM in the Chandler Ballroom of the University Center.

Do you have a great chili recipe or delicious cornbread you think everyone would love to try? Do you want to try winning one of the 3 prizes for having the best chili or cornbread? Sign up HERE to bring your best recipes and compete in the chili cook-off!  If you don’t want to compete and you just enjoy sampling chili, come with your friends and colleagues to taste chili and cornbread with SAC members! The chili goes fast so make sure you come early!

Don’t Forget!  Show your colleagues some appreciation!  With the Excellent Eagle Employee Program, you can nominate your co-workers, supervisor or employees for the Excellent Eagle Employee award. It’s easy! Just complete the Excellent Eagle Employee nomination form on our website. Take some time to nominate someone today! Winners get reserved parking on campus for the month.  Additionally, there is the #1 F.A.N. (Fantastic Action Noticed) program.  Did you experience exceptional customer service or awesome collaboration? If so, nominate the person or people involved in that experience. Complete the #1 F.A.N. form on the HR website, and your colleague will be able to choose a UMW spirit item as a token of appreciation.

Bonds Publishes Article on Sociology and the Iraq War

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Associate professor of sociology Eric Bonds recently published an article in the journal Sociology Compass titled “U.S. Sociology and the Iraq War.” The article is based on a review of the Iraq-War related articles published in the discipline’s major journals. Bonds concludes that, while sociologists have made important contributions to our collective understanding of American aspects of this war, much more research is needed to understand how the invasion and occupation impacted Iraqi society and individual Iraqis.