This paper offers a critical review of trauma studies, tracing their origins to recent developments. It explores the discipline’s interdisciplinarity, drawing from fields such as psychology, literature, and sociology. The article highlights key theoretical debates, including the ‘unspeakable’ nature of trauma articulated by scholars such as Caruth versus the multidirectional views proposed by others, such as Rothberg. It also examines new directions, such as the focus on collective trauma, the influence of feminist and postcolonial perspectives and a growing linguistic approach. The article concludes by discussing how these studies have been introduced into the Italian context and their future.