創傷事件留下的各種"蹤跡"使得創傷敘事成為可能,此類敘事的功用不僅在于其具有強大的療治性功能,更在于其能夠燭照通往歷史現場之曲徑。近年來,創傷研究已不再局限于個體性創傷及其修復,而開始更多地聚焦于集體創傷。一旦集體創傷在某種文化中得到確認,不僅會影響個體對共同體的認同,同時還會影響共同體的塑造、維護和鞏固。由于蘊藏于其中的巨大能量,集體創傷的表征因此必然是文化建構的結果,眾多的權力關系都會參與其中。在剖析這一建構性的過程中,各種"他者"遭受的創傷開始顯影,創傷研究由此成為批判殖民主義、父權制、戰爭、偏見和各種不合理制度安排的重要力量。

Trauma narratives are made possible by the "traces" left by traumatic events. These narratives are not only therapeutic, but can also provide an access to historical reality. In recent years, critics begin to switch their attention from individual traumas to collective traumas. According to them, collective traumas not only affect people’s identification with the community, but also play important roles in the formation, maintenance, and consolidation of the community. Due to the shaping influence of collective traumas, different forms of power are woven into the representation of trauma, making the representation of trauma a product of cultural construction. In the process, the traumas witnessed by "others" have now attracted the attention of critics, thus making the critique of colonialism, patriarchy, war, prejudices and unjust social mechanisms an important task of trauma study whose ethical dimension is also demonstrated.