06 May 2025
Dr Francesa Meloni, Senior Lecturer in Social Justice at the School of Education, Communication and Society, has won the Hart-SLSA Book Prize for Early Career Academics 2025 for her book Ways of Belonging: Undocumented Youth in the Shadow of Illegality.
The book, which was published in 2023, examines the experiences of undocumented young people who are excluded from K–12 schools in Canada and are rendered invisible to the education system.
On the achievement Dr Meloni said:
“This book was a labour of love and emerged from the experience of working as part of a wider research action team. I'm happy this work has received recognition. I hope that it can shed light on the injustice experienced by young people and families living undocumented in Canada.”
The book was launched at a roundtable event at King’s in 2024 in collaboration with King’s Sanctuary Programme. The event brought together four speakers from research and practice and invited participants to think about different ways that scholars, community organisations, and policymakers can address young people’s needs and the systemic violences of our contemporary societies. Collectively, the panel shared their experiences, dilemmas, lessons learnt, and ways of mobilising in academia and beyond.
Senior Lecturer in Social Justice
Book launch for 'Ways of Belonging: Undocumented Youth in the Shadow of Illegality’
