Introduction, in Littétaure et sida, alors et encore

In the ‘post-AIDS era’, three decades after the emergence of HIV, two generations of researchers take stock of its representations in French literature. A whole constellation of narratives combining autobiography and fiction has formed around the works of Guibert and other authors (Hocquenhem, Lagarce, Dustan), from the initial pseudo-testimonials to texts historicising AIDS, internalising grief, or protesting against AIDS/HIV discrimination. Calling on a variety of approaches (literary studies, gender studies, and cultural studies), this volume questions the current relevance of this phenomenon and its multiple personal, political, aesthetic, and ethical implications. HIV/AIDS proves of hermeneutic value in exploring issues relating to the body and illness, to desire and death, and to breaking silence and rethinking identity.