Readers’ Lived Experiences and Meaning-Making of Collective Trauma in Literary Narratives

Abstract

Literature serves as a powerful medium for preserving cultural memory and negotiating collective trauma, enabling readers to engage with historical narratives on emotional and cognitive levels. Within this broader context, this study focuses on how readers interpret and internalize representations of historical trauma and identity reconstruction through Laksmi Pamuntjak’s novel Amba. While previous studies have largely emphasized textual analysis or authorial perspectives, little is known about readers’ lived experiences when encountering literary depictions of traumatic histories. Addressing this gap, this study highlights the novelty of examining readers’ meaning-making processes as an essential dimension of collective memory studies. Here, we apply Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to explore readers’ subjective experiences and reveal the essential meanings behind their engagement with the text. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews with twelve participants who had read Amba and analyzed using a systematic, iterative approach to identify emerging themes. The findings demonstrate four interconnected experiential dimensions: embodied experiences of historical wounds, negotiation of cultural identity, emotional resonance and empathic imagination, and literature as a catalyst for collective remembrance. These findings advance prior scholarship by shifting the focus from textual representation to readers’ experiential engagement, thereby offering a novel contribution to trauma and memory studies. This study enhances our understanding of how literature mediates identity formation and cultural belonging, offering theoretical insights for phenomenological research and practical implications for educators, cultural practitioners, and policymakers. By centering on readers’ perspectives, this work contributes new methodological and conceptual approaches to the study of trauma narratives. Future studies may extend these findings by comparing multiple texts or exploring cross-cultural contexts to deepen perspectives on meaning-making and collective memory.