Contagion is the journal of the Colloquium on Violence and Religion (COV&R), an international association of scholars founded in 1990 and dedicated to the exploration, criticism, and development of René Girard's mimetic model of the relationship between violence and religion in the genesis and maintenance of culture. The Violence, Mimesis, and Culture Series provides additional examination of cultural mimesis.

COV&R is concerned with questions of research and application. Scholars from diverse fields and theoretical orientations are invited to participate in its conferences and publications. Membership includes subscriptions to Contagion and to the organization's biannual Bulletin which contains recent bibliography, book reviews, and information on the annual conference as well as on relevant satellite sessions in conferences of diverse disciplines.