In this Book
- René Girard's Mimetic Theory
- Book
- 2013
- Published by: Michigan State University Press
- Series: Studies in Violence, Mimesis and Culture
summary
A systematic introduction into the mimetic theory of the French-American literary theorist and philosophical anthropologist René Girard, this essential text explains its three main pillars (mimetic desire, the scapegoat mechanism, and the Biblical “difference”) with the help of examples from literature and philosophy. This book also offers an overview of René Girard’s life and work, showing how much mimetic theory results from existential and spiritual insights into one’s own mimetic entanglements. Furthermore it examines the broader implications of Girard’s theories, from the mimetic aspect of sovereignty and wars to the relationship between the scapegoat mechanism and the question of capital punishment. Mimetic theory is placed within the context of current cultural and political debates like the relationship between religion and modernity, terrorism, the death penalty, and gender issues. Drawing textual examples from European literature (Cervantes, Shakespeare, Goethe, Kleist, Stendhal, Storm, Flaubert, Dostoevsky, Proust) and philosophy (Plato, Camus, Sartre, Lévi-Strauss, Derrida, Vattimo), Palaver uses mimetic theory to explore the themes they present. A highly accessible book, this text is complemented by bibliographical references to Girard’s widespread work and secondary literature on mimetic theory and its applications, comprising a valuable bibliographical archive that provides the reader with an overview of the development and discussion of mimetic theory until the present day.
Table of Contents
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- Title Page, Copyright
- pp. i-iv
- Preface to the English Edition
- pp. xiii-xv
- 1. Life and Work of René Girard
- pp. 1-14
- 2. Religion and Modernity
- pp. 15-31
- 3. Mimetic Desire
- pp. 33-134
- 5. Biblical Revelation and Christianity
- pp. 195-273
- 7. Mimetic Theory and Gender
- pp. 297-307
- Chronology
- pp. 309-312
- Bibliography
- pp. 367-395
- Index of Terms
- pp. 397-398
- Index of Names
- pp. 399-403
Additional Information
ISBN
9781609173654
Related ISBN(s)
9781611860771, 9781628951073, 9781628961072
MARC Record
OCLC
823739094
Pages
419
Launched on MUSE
2013-02-13
Language
English
Open Access
No
Copyright
2013