Meena Dhanda

Meena Dhanda is a Professor of Philosophy and Cultural Politics at the University of Wolverhampton and a Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics (LSE). Her work focuses on caste as a form of racism, intersectionalities of caste, class, gender, and race, and social justice. She holds a DPhil from the University of Oxford (Balliol College) and has held roles such as Junior Research Fellow at St Hilda’s College and part-time Community Education Worker in Oxford. She is a leading scholar, having authored The Negotiation of Personal Identity (2008) and edited multiple volumes, including the forthcoming Routledge Handbook of Punjab Studies. Her research has influenced UK policy on caste discrimination, including contributions to integrating caste into the Equality Act 2010.

Education:

• DPhil (Oxford University, Balliol College, Commonwealth Scholar)
• MA in Philosophy (Punjab University)
• BA in Economics and Mathematics (Punjab University)

Research Interests:

• Caste as racism, anti-casteism, and intersectionality
• Social justice, collective action, and resistance
• Philosophy of identity, belonging, and moral responsibility

Key Projects:

• Co-editor of Racism by Context (Oxford University Press, 2023-2027)
• General Editor of Caste: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, contracted 2025)
• Lead researcher on Caste in Britain (Equality and Human Rights Commission, 2013-2014)

Awards:

• Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship (2010-2012)

Advocacy and Grants:

• PI of EU Horizon2020-funded FEINART project (2019-2023)
• Co-founder of the Racism by Context interdisciplinary initiative
• Member of the British Philosophical Association and Society for Women in Philosophy

Labs/Teams:

• Leading a project on video documentation of landless farmers’ struggles in Punjab
• Curator of Racism by Context at Oxford Intersections