Find Academics on Mastodon

Or browse

After you log in you can easily follow anyone you find, even if they are on a different server.

What is this page?

This is a prototype web application that allows folks to browse some of the lists of Academics of Mastodon, view public profiles and posts, and easily follow people on the list by logging in.

Where does the data come from?

The wonderful Academics of Mastodon site contains links to a variety of lists of academics in different disciplines. Because many of the lists are based on the List of Sociologists maintained by David Adler et al. it was possible to create an app to view those lists in one place. This app does not maintain a copy of the data and does not “crawl” or “scrape” Mastodon, it just loads the lists into your browser and requests information from Mastodon instances as you browse.

How do I add myself, or update my info?

I'm hoping to add that soon. For now, if you want to be on these lists, use the list of data sources below or head on over to Academics of Mastodon for the full list of disciplines. I'm reaching out to the folks who own those lists to see if we can add a way to ease signups. In addition to supporting current sign-up mechanisms we might

  1. Provide a custom form that verifies your account, collects information and sends it to the list owner.
  2. Create an option for owners to store lists in Mastodon or as part of this app.

Do I have to login?

You can browse public information without logging in. In order to follow and see any non-public profiles you have permissions to see, you need to log into your Mastodon instance. I would like to add an "Export to CSV" option so that people can still make use of the data without logging in.

Are you planning to add more academic disciplines?

Yes, assuming it's not too difficult to get the data. DM me if you manage a list, or would like to start one.

Who built this?

Mark Igra, the founder of sciences.social built this over winter break 2022. I welcome comments and suggestions. The code is on github.

Shouldn't he have been working on his PhD instead?

That is a frequently asked question.

Data Sources

Audition
Owner: Leo Varnet (@leovarnet@qoto.org)
Digital Humanists
Owners: Quinn Dombrowski (@quinnanya@mstdn.social) and Frederick Elwert (@felwert@mstdn.social)
Economics
Owner: Christian Zimmerman (@czimm_economist@econtwitter.net)
Geography
Owners: LeJun and Rob Kitchin (@robkitchin@mastodon.social)
Law
Owner: Heidi Li Feldman (@heidilifeldman@mastodon.social)
Public Policy
Owner: Michael Howlett