CfP: Barriers without borders
Global and transdisciplinary perspectives on sanitary cordons throughout history 2 nd International Conference of the Quarantine Studies Network 7-8 November 2018 Hosted by the University of the Balearic Islands, Palma de Mallorca Sanitary cordons to regulate and control the spread of bubonic plague were developed in Italy in the 14 th century in parallel with maritime quarantine (mainly lazarettos) and came to be quickly imposed by other Mediterranean/European countries. Today, various types of cordons are still being used ‘to control the spread of epizootics and to mitigate the impact of both newly emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases upon the human population’ (Cliff, 2009) with the 21 st -century pandemics of Ebola or avian flu showing their continued utility. At this juncture one finds a stunning paradox: despite their functions as instruments of isolation/separation, sanitary cordons came to be highly appreciated, legitimized and defended by state authorities...