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Audra Mitchell

@audralmitchell.bsky.social

7.3K followers 1.7K following 370 posts

Professor, writer & Canada Research Chair, Global Political Ecology. Artisanal theory and concept maker. Tylenol side effect. Most recent book: 'Revenant Ecologies'. www.audramitchell.org Kitten photos b/c we all need them. .. more

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Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Jan 21

#introduction I'm a settler writer and professor living on Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe lands. I research, write and agitate around global structural violence, ecological harms, disability justice, anti-oppressive futures, queer, anti-colonial and anti-racist politics. Also a cat parent!

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · 22d

[alt text: an article from the Guardian about the use of fire by humans 350k years ago is illustrated by a photo of ambiguously racialized actors with dirt on their faces and bodies seated around a fire grilling an animal on a spit]

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · 22d

Surely in 2025 it is possible for journalists to do better than smearing dirt on the faces and hair of ambiguously but obviously racialized people in order to represent white fantasies of 'ancient humans' www.theguardian.com/science/2025...

Humans made fire 350,000 years earlier than previously thought, discovery in Suffolk suggests

Groundbreaking find makes compelling case that humans were lighting fires much earlier than originally believed

www.theguardian.com

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · 23d

And yes, there is a joy in knowing obscure references. But to me, the bigger issue is the work that it takes to find those references and put them together in ways that create new insight. Too many colleagues do not seem to recognize this as academic work

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · 23d

Yep, multiple times personally, and I've seen it done by colleagues to other colleagues many times as well. It's very easy to tell because usually the author in question has put things together in a way that is very unlikely to have emerged from their own research process

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · 23d

Longer thoughts on this www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

Taking ideas, arguments or lines of thought and passing them off as one's own without citation is plagiarism, plain and simple. As an author and reviewer, I'm seeing a particular kind of… | ...

Taking ideas, arguments or lines of thought and passing them off as one's own without citation is plagiarism, plain and simple. As an author and reviewer, I'm seeing a particular kind of shadow-plag...

www.linkedin.com

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · 23d

Some 'ceasefire'. This was the plan all along. Settler colonial genocide in action
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...

‘Yellow line’ that divides Gaza under Trump plan is ‘new border’ for Israel, says military chief

Eyal Zamir said Israel would hold on to current positions, giving it control of more than half of the territory

www.theguardian.com

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · 23d

Sorry that happened to you.

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · 23d

Hey #academicsky: friendly reminder that taking the exact ideas or sources, or the exact way someone puts together ideas or sources from someone else's work and framing them as your own is plagiarism. Ideas are what we theorists make in the lab, through long hours of work and years of honing.

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · 27d

Between today's destructive CDC panel and the unabashed embrace of white supremacist conspiracy theory (see article) can anyone seriously deny that this is a #eugenicist regime?
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

‘Cultivate resistance’: policy paper lays bare Trump support for Europe’s far right

Text signed by president seems to echo ‘great replacement’ theory, saying Europe faces ‘civilisational erasure’

www.theguardian.com

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Nov 25

"The beliefs RFK Jr. espouses kill people. These beliefs have already killed people"
💯

Aparna Nair @disabilitystor1.bsky.social · Nov 25

Spoke to @melodyschreiber.com about the only story that matters re Olivia Nuzzi--her role in elevating RFK Jr, a man who is doing and will do so much harm to global health, even for decades after he leaves this position.
I don't care about her hikes in the desert, her exile or her terrible prose.

Melody Schreiber @melodyschreiber.com · Nov 25

Olivia Nuzzi wrote an entire story based on unnamed sources about Biden's decline, reinvigorating calls for him to leave the race -- and the whole time, she was working on RFK Jr.'s behalf, according to her ex-fiance. newrepublic.com/article/2035...

Reposted by B. R. Mitchell, Alan Richardson

Aparna Nair @disabilitystor1.bsky.social · Nov 25

Melody Schreiber @melodyschreiber.com · Nov 25

Olivia Nuzzi’s Real Victims

More than her fiancé, or fellow female journalists, the public will pay the price for these misdeeds. RFK Jr. will see to that.

newrepublic.com

Reposted by Jason Mittell, Marco Festa‐Bianchet, Tom Shakespeare , and 12 more Jason Mittell, Marco Festa‐Bianchet, Tom Shakespeare, Russell T. McCutcheon, David W. Kerstetter, Anders Nilsson, B. R. Mitchell, McKenzie Wark, Stephen Ryan, James Goodwin, Alfie Kohn, David Bartram, Roland Pierik, Simon Lester, David R. Shumway

Rebecca Colesworthy @rcolesworthy.bsky.social · Nov 25

one of the coolest things about ChatGPT is how you can actually just never use it. you can fill your whole entire life with simply not once using it. it's incredible.

Reposted by B. R. Mitchell

Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha @thellpsx.bsky.social · Nov 17

llps.substack.com/p/alice-wong.... what is remembered lives. @pipagaopoetry.bsky.social and me wrote our assess off on our Crips for eSims memory song for our beloved @sfdirewolf.bsky.social . #AliceForever

Alice Wong was Crips for eSims for Gaza, and Everything to Us

by Jane Shi and Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

llps.substack.com

Reposted by John McLaren, B. R. Mitchell, Lindsay M. Tedds , and 6 more John McLaren, B. R. Mitchell, Lindsay M. Tedds, Michael W. Kraus, Daniel E. Jones, Michael Müller, Lisa Diedrich, Andrew M. Penner, Meredith Farkas

Dr. Thrasher wants you to pre-order The Overseer Class @thrasherxy.bsky.social · Nov 15

“Don’t let the bastards grind you down. I love you all.”

Black text on a yellow background - This is Alice's friend Sandy Ho, posting. Per Alice's wishes, this message is being shared at the time of her passing.
Hi everyone, it looks like I ran out of time. I have so many dreams that I wanted to fulfill and plans to create new stories for you. There are a few in progress that might come to fruition in a few years if things work out. I did not ever imagine I would live to this age and end up a writer, editor, activist, and more. As a kid riddled with insecurity and internalized ableism, I could not see a path forward. It was thanks to friendships and some great teachers who believed in me that I was able to fight my way out of miserable situations into a place where I finally felt comfortable in my skin.
We need more stories about us and our culture.
You all, we all, deserve the everything and more in such a hostile, ableist environment. Our wisdom is incisive and unflinching. I'm honored to be your ancestor and believe disabled oracles like us will light the way to the future. Don't let the bastards grind you down. I love you all.

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Nov 3

Prof. Farhana Sultana is a path-breaking scholar of political ecology who has been placed on leave by Syracuse University for a post made on her personal SMs in a context of cascading political repression. Pls sign this letter calling for her immediate reinstatement
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Letter of Support for Professor Farhana Sultana

As scholars within and beyond academia, we write in solidarity with academic freedom of expression with our colleague, Dr. Farhana Sultana, an internationally recognized scholar and tenured Full Profe...

docs.google.com

Reposted by B. R. Mitchell

Interrupting Criminalization @interruptcrim.bsky.social · Oct 10

Looking to do some reading this weekend? Check out our Beyond Do No Harm reading guide, which shares articles, books + more for anyone wanting to dive deeper into topics around criminalization of care or providing care for criminalized populations: www.interruptingcriminalization.com/resources-al...

Graphic featuring a small thumbnail of a one-page resource, and text on a background composed of a tan and a dark blue column. The text reads: "Beyond Do No Harm Abolitionist Health Care "Back to School" Reading Guide. for anyone who wants to learn more & dive into topics around criminalization of care or providing care for criminalized populations." At the bottom, the URL "bit.ly/BDNHBackToSchool." A light drawing of a stethoscope is to the left of the resource.

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Oct 10

He's wonderful! Thank you for sharing this vid

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Oct 1

Also, guys, I feel like we had this discussion back in 2013 (and the decades preceding it). A wee bit of homework may be in order

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Oct 1

[alt text: a white child with blond hair in a pink singlet is wearing an identifying bracelet bearing a symbol promoted by a well-known anti-Autistic organization and holding the hand of an adult against a green background]

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Oct 1

Holy shit, it's almost like they're saying Autistic people are diverse! Glad to see journos are still calling on Uta Frith and that ilk to provide highly technical terms like 'ragbag' to describe the diversity of our communities.

www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Autism should not be seen as single condition with one cause, say scientists

Those diagnosed as small children typically have distinct genetic profile from those diagnosed later, study finds

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Richard S.J. Tol, David Rothschild, Peter Campbell , and 7 more Richard S.J. Tol, David Rothschild, Peter Campbell, B. R. Mitchell, Alan Richardson, Stacy D. VanDeveer, Aurélien Mondon, James Connelly, Nathan P. Kalmoe, David R. Shumway

Danielle Froom 🏳️‍🌈 @danifroom.bsky.social · Sep 30

I don't think we'll ever get another sentence which sums up everything the New York Times embodies quite like "Some legal experts have called it a crime to summarily kill civilians".

Matt Cameron @mattcameron.bsky.social · Sep 30

hey @nytimes.com: there is no counterpoint here. There are no credible legal experts who would EVER say that the US military has any right or authority to blow civilian craft out of the Caribbean and kill their crews from afar without any provocation. There is no other side to this question.

"Some legal experts have called it a crime to summarily kill civilians not directly taking part in hostilities, even if they are believed to be smuggling drugs."

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Sep 23

100% this. Autistic people (and Autistic communities and cultures) exist in ways that scramble all lines of class, race, gender and disability. Very threatening to a lot of forms of power.

Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · Sep 23

I think…people’s obsession with “a cause”…is precisely because autism’s genetic randomness is hard to stratify by social class……………..

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Sep 23

THERE. ARE. NO. 'CAUSES'. OF. AUTISM.

(other than being born as a member of Homo sapiens, which is a huge risk factor for turning out to be Autistic).

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Sep 23

All human traits have genetic sources. I'm saying that the traits associated with Autism do not need to be ferreted out for the purpose of eradicating them.

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Sep 23

Good for you

Reposted by Mark D. White, B. R. Mitchell

Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · Sep 23

I think…people’s obsession with “a cause”…is precisely because autism’s genetic randomness is hard to stratify by social class……………..

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Sep 23

THERE. ARE. NO. 'CAUSES'. OF. AUTISM.

(other than being born as a member of Homo sapiens, which is a huge risk factor for turning out to be Autistic).

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Sep 23

But genetics is not a 'cause'. What is called Autism is not 'caused', genetically or otherwise, any more than eye colour is 'caused'. It occurs.

Reposted by Mark D. White

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Sep 23

THERE. ARE. NO. 'CAUSES'. OF. AUTISM.

(other than being born as a member of Homo sapiens, which is a huge risk factor for turning out to be Autistic).

Reposted by B. R. Mitchell, Katherine Brickell

Rosaleen Duffy @rosaleenduffy.bsky.social · Sep 20

Dreadful to see this - Farhana Sultana is a stellar academic, with a commitment to social justice. She repeatedly said she was being targeted on this platform & on others. I note her account is deleted. Shame on Syracuse for not standing up for colleagues ⬇️ solidarity to her & Jenn Jackson

Dr. Genevieve Guenther (she/they) @doctorvive.bsky.social · Sep 20

Hey, people who work on climate especially, you should know this is happening.

Congresswoman Claudia Tenney Calls on Syracuse University to Fire Professors Who Celebrated Charlie Kirk's
Murder or Face Loss of Federal Funding
September 17, 2025 | Press Release
Washington, DC - Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-24)
today issued the following statement after reports surfaced o that two professors at Syracuse University mocked the brutal murder of conservative leader Charlie Kirk:
"While Americans across the country are mourning the tragic murder of Charle Kirk, two Syracuse University professors, Jenn Jackson and Farhana Sultana, used their platforms to celebrate and mock his death," said Congresswoman Tenney.
Their appalling remarks included comments such as 'rest in piss, 'give him what he valued: no empathy, referring to him as 'trash, and even thanking a so-called 'witch' for cursing his life."
=
tenney.house.gov

Reposted by W Grant, Haley A. Branch

Audra Mitchell @audralmitchell.bsky.social · Sep 3

If you're interested in the crossing points between crip theory, anti-eugenics, environment, global health and global ethics, check out @octoqueenphd.bsky.social 's new podcast #UnwellToBeginWith. It was a blast to be the first guest, & a fantastic episode with @stressedbranch.bsky.social is now up

Mollie Holmberg @octoqueenphd.bsky.social · Sep 2

For our 1st episode, I spoke with @audralmitchell.bsky.social about why crip knowledge systems belong in fields like IR & environmental studies; how policing gets normalized in classrooms; & why crip politics is about a lot more than just disability

unwell-to-begin-with.podbean.com/e/episode-1-...

Episode 1: Autistic Knowledge Ecologies with Audra Mitchell | Unwell to Begin With

"These shared resonances which are often infantilized and dismissed as 'special interests' or 'infodumping' are actually intensities of knowledge and knowledge creation that we can sort of... refract ...

unwell-to-begin-with.podbean.com

Reposted by B. R. Mitchell

Mollie Holmberg @octoqueenphd.bsky.social · Sep 2

Episode 1: Autistic Knowledge Ecologies with Audra Mitchell | Unwell to Begin With

unwell-to-begin-with.podbean.com

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