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Migration, Identity and Belonging
DozentIn: Anna-Julia Toll
Veranstaltungstyp: Blockseminar
Ort: 15/113: Freitag, 24.10.2025 10:00 - 14:00, Freitag, 14.11.2025 - Samstag, 15.11.2025 10:00 - 17:00, 15/E28: Freitag, 21.11.2025 - Samstag, 22.11.2025 10:00 - 17:00
Zeiten: Termine am Freitag, 24.10.2025 10:00 - 14:00, Freitag, 14.11.2025 - Samstag, 15.11.2025, Freitag, 21.11.2025 - Samstag, 22.11.2025 10:00 - 17:00, Ort: 15/113, 15/E28
Beschreibung: This seminar is designed especially for international students and offers a space to explore identity, migration, and social responsibility in both German and global contexts.
This dynamic and interactive seminar is open to all international (exchange) students, regardless of your academic background. Whether you're new to these topics or have prior knowledge, every perspective is welcome and valued. The seminar invites you to engage in thought-provoking discussions on identity, migration, and social responsibility within both the German and global contexts, creating a space for reflection, sharing, and meaningful exchange.
Session Topics:
1. (Counter-) Narratives of Migration:
"Guest Workers”? Or Heroes of the German "Economic Miracle" in the after math of WWII? “Refugee Crises” or Saviors of the collapsing Economy and Health Systems? Upside-downing the populist Migration narrative in Germany.
This session critically unpacks how migration has been framed in public discourse, past and present. We challenge dominant narratives and explore how migrants have been both scapegoated and essential to national progress. By “flipping the script,” we examine how language, media, and politics shape perceptions of migration in Germany, and how counter-narratives offer space for recognition, dignity, and historical truth.
2. Identity and Belonging
"Where are you really from?" A question many migrants and children of immigrants know too well. What defines who belongs where: language, passport, culture, or skin color? How do migration, discrimination, and integration policies shape feelings of inclusion or exclusion in German society? This session explores identity as a dynamic, negotiated process and belonging as more than just legal status. It’s about being seen, heard, and valued. We look at everyday struggles and strategies: from hyphenated identities (e.g., "German-Turkish") to creating spaces of belonging in communities, schools, and online.
3. Racism, Class & Discrimination:
“The function … the very serious function of racism … is distraction. It keeps you from doing your work. It keeps you explaining, over and over again, your reason for being…” (Morrison, 1975)
In this session, we explore how racism and class-based discrimination shape the everyday lives of migrants and marginalized groups in Germany and beyond. Who gets labeled as a “problem,” who is “integrated,” and who is left out? We examine how structures of power – in schools, housing, labor markets, and media – reinforce exclusion, and how race, class, and migration status intersect. But we also look at resistance: how people reclaim voice, challenge discrimination, and build solidarity across differences.
4. (Forced) Migration, Displacement and Statelessness
What does it mean to lose not only your home, but also your legal place in the world? Every day, people are forced to flee war, persecution, poverty, or climate disasters. But some don’t just lose a country, they lose citizenship itself. In this session, we explore the complex realities of people on the move: refugees, internally displaced and stateless persons. What are the legal categories and how do they shape who gets protection, who gets excluded, and who gets forgotten? We reflect on the emotional, legal, and political dimensions of being uprooted and unrecognized, and highlight stories of survival, resistance, and the fight for rights and belonging.
