Anti-racist learning in the university: trilemmatic positionality in teaching racialization processes in Germany

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.