Man is the creature who does not know what to desire, and he turns to others in order to make up his mind. We desire what others desire because we imitate their desires.
RENÉ GIRARD, VIOLENT ORIGINS
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René Girard's Mimetic Theory:
Unconventional Wisdom About Human Nature
Today René Girard is recognized worldwide for his theory of human behavior and human culture. In 2005 he was inducted into the Académie française, and in 2008 he received the Modern Language Association's award for Lifetime Scholarly Achievement. He is Professor Emeritus at Stanford University. But back more than 50 years ago, René Girard started teaching French literature because he needed a job... More
Photo credit: Elizabeth Bailie
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Imitatio ProjectsImitatio is a non-profit devoted to the ongoing development, critique, and application of René Girard's mimetic theory.
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PublicationsImitatio supports the publication and translation of key works of mimetic theory around the world.
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Mark Anspach
That was the promotional pitch for David |
Featured Videos |
Violence and the Sacred, 40 Years Later
A colloquium June 1st at the Bibliothèque nationale in Paris explores Girard's thought on Greek tragedy.
COV&R 2012 in Tokyo is Only Weeks Away
View the schedule & register online for the July 5th-8th event.
Rethinking Europe's Wars of Religion
Did violence come from hot-blooded fanaticism or from coldly calculated statecraft? This June...
What Was the American Civil War?
Mark Noll and other historians clear away the haze in these video presentations from March 2012...
Girard on Dostoevsky now in Paperback
René Girard’s classic study of Feodor Dostoevsky is finally in paperback. An essential companion to Notes from...