A few thoughts on Mia Bloom, abuse, and how to build a better academy. First, I am incredibly appreciative to those who stepped up and shared their experiences with Mia. I had heard stories, dating all the way back to my graduate school days. I knew about this side of her. 1/n

But I remain shocked to learn about how systematic this behavior has been, the targeting of junior scholars, the abuse of graduate students. Some have debated whether this is evidence that the academy is toxic or if this is just one toxic person. 2/n

I think differences of opinion on this are fine, but I do think we need to reckon with particular features of academia that allow behavior of this kind to go unpunished. First, informal whisper networks exist and may help students and junior scholars avoid these kinds of ... 3/n

personalities, but networks do not link up systematically -- and younger scholars, because their networks are smaller, are unlikely to get this information when they need it. Couple this with individuals' natural reluctance to call out bullies, and I'm not optimistic ... 4/n

that informal mechanisms will work. I knew about Mia's track record, but we work on different topics in different subfields. I now worry that I could have been more mindful, since I certainly know junior scholars who wld fall in her ambit, but it honestly didn't occur ... 5/n

to me. But would I do this kind of thing? Given that, I think we need to think more creatively, since this is not one person. We also can't put this on those who have been the victims of bullying, sexual harassment, or other forms of unprofessional behavior. Career ... 6/n

consequences are real. I can think of two things that we can do to limit the damage done by individuals who have a clear pattern of unprofessional behavior. First, why can people get jobs without any references from their current employer? Might indiv departments insist ... 7/n

on some due-diligence re behavior at the past institution? Not sure how this would work (or the legal ramifications), but I can think of reasons that universities might want to ensure clean record on issues of student treatment, fraud, etc, esp for tenured hires. 8/n

Second, we control our professional associations, and they have the power the exclude individuals and certainly turn down conference submissions when there is good evidence for breach of associational standards (once clearly specified). 9/n

There is no reason that associations could not appoint ombudsman to field complaints and protect the confidentiality of complainants. Ideally, those individuals would be administrators rather than academics. Obviously, this is tricky. 10/n

Mechanisms cld be abused, indivs cld be wrongly sanctioned, the culture of open criticism cld be harmed. It's all very tough. But I think it's worth talking about how to impose consequences for this kind of behavior. They exist in other professions & should do in ours. 11/11

I'd be happy to help APSA, African Studies Assoc, or colleagues brainstorm around these kinds of issues. Not sure how long I'll leave this thread up, but I'm also here for African scholars & Africanists who may need a supportive ear.