The concept of trauma and the development of trauma studies are deeply connected to the Second World War and more specifically to the Jewish genocide of the mid-twentieth century. Yet the term appears nowhere in early testimonial work. This course addresses this apparent paradox while also exploring the dimensions of human experience that the concept of trauma has made audible in society. It thereby charts significant social change up to and including that way that trauma, today, informs our understanding of the consequences of mass violence and genocide on geopolitics. It offers students an interdisciplinary approach to one of the key drivers of social change, opening up perspectives on the history of psychology and mental health, as well as the means to assess what ‘trauma’ also tells us about contemporary and historical injustice.