Elisa Sperandio is a geographer and PhD candidate at the School of Geography, Development and Environment at the University of Arizona and a visiting PhD at the Department of Sociology and Economic Law of the Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna Prior to moving to Tucson, she completed a master’s degree in geography at the University of Kentucky, with a thesis focused on the borderwork carried out by the residents of the island of Lampedusa, in the Mediterranean. Her work is at the intersection of political geography, migration studies, and social theory. My research interests include migrant housing, grassroots solidarity, border enforcement in the European Union, and processes of citizenship formation. Her dissertation project is funded through the International Dissertation Research Fellowship (2021 cohort) by the Social Sciences Research Council. The project focuses on the Italian system of accoglienza diffusa, which enlists the collaboration of municipalities, non-profits, the private sector, and residents to coordinate the housing and integration of migrants. This ethnographic research compares experiences of, and approaches to, migrant reception in Bologna and Torino, two Italian cities that have historically shown a commitment to implementing and innovating programs of accoglienza diffusa. In 2022, she joined the research team of the Horizon2020 project, Perceptions.
Elisa Sperandio
