Power-games behind the conceptualization of contagion.

In this contribution, I will draw parallels between the notion of contagion of diseases and the potential effect of movement as contagion, while juxtaposing some of the selected theoretical approaches that analyse the term contagion as a threat on the one hand and as a potential weapon in the processes of sensibilization of humanity, emphasizing empathy as a tool and medium for social politicization on the other. I will try to answer to the following questions: what does it mean to see the contagioned body as infectious toward other bodies? What is the impact of the medical-epidemiological concept of infection on the wider political discourse? How have the metaphoric notions of contagion been used as its counter-side? How contagious are social and artistic practices and what are the reasons for their success or/and their downfall? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]