Researchers from all disciplines involved in this kind of projects are invited to participate in this meeting by proposing, from a completely holistic and diachronic perspective, a paper on the following topics:

1. The Yersinia pestis bacterium shows a complex contamination cycle. Since its vector (the flea) is well known, interest is focused on its “hosts,” in time and space, taking into account, inasmuch as possible, the environmental conditions of the period under study.
   
   
2. The epidemiological characteristics of Yersinia pestis and its transmission mechanisms, as compared to other epidemics with which it can be confused, considering the asymptomatic nature of the disease. For this purpose, contributions are requested to determine which diseases have been historically included under the concept of plague or pestilence.
   
   
3. The pathogenicity of Yersinia pestis and its transmission mechanisms are intangible characteristics of this bacterium, but the virulence of its effects has changed dramatically. The issue of its differential lethality can be analyzed in connection to socio-economic contexts and implemented policies of prevention and public health.
   
   
4. The plague in cities vis-à-vis the plague in the rural world: different models of transmission and contamination from both macro- and micro-demographic approaches.
   
   
5. Can a new chronology be established for plague epidemics (both confirmed or attributable to some other pathogenic factor) based on recent research carried out across several continents?
   
   
6. Can the economic, demographic, genetic, cultural, and material consequences of the major plague epidemics in the short, medium, or long run be appraised from a large-scale view?