Anti-racist learning in the university: trilemmatic positionality in teaching racialization processes in Germany
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: This article analyzes the pedagogical and institutional challenges of teaching about racialization processes in Germany through a BA-level seminar, Processes of Racialization in the "Two Germanies. " Drawing on critical race pedagogy and the concept of trilemmatic positionality, we explore how students navigated tensions between institutional resistance, anti-racist commitments, and their own lived experiences. Based on students' reflections and feedback, the article examines how language, digital learning, and institutional structures shape anti-racist learning. Our findings reveal the emotional labor of students, the discomfort of privileged learners, and the limits of institutional recognition of racism. We argue for the institutionalization of anti-racist pedagogy in German higher education and highlight how trilemmatic positionality provides an analytical tool for understanding the contradictions and potential of anti-racist teaching.
Source: Frontiers in Sociology
Authors: Maisha M. Auma, Gökce Yurdakul
Institutions: University of Klagenfurt, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,418
Funder: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
OpenAlex ID: W4416994362