In this Book
- Evolution of Desire: A Life of René Girard
- Book
- 2018
- Published by: Michigan State University Press
- Series: Studies in Violence, Mimesis and Culture
summary
René Girard (1923–2015) was one of the leading thinkers of our era—a provocative sage who bypassed prevailing orthodoxies to offer a bold, sweeping vision of human nature, human history, and human destiny. His oeuvre, offering a “mimetic theory” of cultural origins and human behavior, inspired such writers as Milan Kundera and J. M. Coetzee, and earned him a place among the forty “immortals” of the Académie Française. Too often, however, his work is considered only within various academic specializations. This first-ever biographical study takes a wider view. Cynthia L. Haven traces the evolution of Girard’s thought in parallel with his life and times. She recounts his formative years in France and his arrival in a country torn by racial division, and reveals his insights into the collective delusions of our technological world and the changing nature of warfare. Drawing on interviews with Girard and his colleagues, Evolution of Desire: A Life of René Girard provides an essential introduction to one of the twentieth century’s most controversial and original minds.
Table of Contents
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- Chapter 1. Introduction
- pp. 1-8
- Chapter 2. Magnetic North
- pp. 9-26
- Chapter 4. Everything Is Possible
- pp. 47-62
- Chapter 5. Mankind Is Not so Kind
- pp. 63-80
- Chapter 6. The Pleasure of His Company
- pp. 81-108
- Chapter 7. Everything Came to Me at Once
- pp. 109-120
- Chapter 8. The French Invasion
- pp. 121-146
- Chapter 9. Le Système-Girard
- pp. 147-174
- Chapter 10. The Zero Hour of Culture
- pp. 175-190
- Chapter 11. Lotus Land
- pp. 191-210
- Chapter 14. Terra Incognita
- pp. 255-270
- Postscript: Hand in Hand
- pp. 271-280
- Acknowledgments
- pp. 281-282
- Chronology
- pp. 283-290
Additional Information
ISBN
9781609175634
Related ISBN(s)
9781611862836, 9781628953305, 9781628963304
MARC Record
OCLC
1028914175
Pages
325
Launched on MUSE
2018-03-19
Language
English
Open Access
No
Copyright
2018