This issue examines the role and definition of the document at the intersection of different discourses about the world – those of literature and history, writers and theorists, witnesses and researchers. The aim is to explicitly break down disciplinary boundaries. The first section focuses on the literary forms and uses of documents, the authors who appropriate and transform them, or who produce works with documentary value. The second part explores the dialogues that this concept encourages between history and literary studies. By fostering dialogues across disciplines, discourses, and the arts, the question of document usage emphasizes the necessity of persistently revisiting the foundations upon which we construct literary or scientific discourses.