Philosophy doctoral candidate Ashli Anda has been named the 2023-2024 Mellon Pre-Doctoral Fellow in Public Humanities

Her project titled “Minding the Gap: Public Philosophy for Incarcerated Youth” will be overseen by HRI director Antoinette Burton and Anda’s faculty mentor Shelley Weinberg. The project aims to forge a long-term connection between the Philosophy department and the Champaign County Juvenile Detention Center by developing an extracurricular course for incarcerated youth. Drawing on her experience teaching in three adult prisons and her experience organizing in the CU community, this program will engage a population that is typically left out of community building and university outreach initiatives.