René Girard's Mimetic Theory

Wolfgang Palaver is Professor of Catholic Social Thought and Chair of the Institute for Systematic Theology at the University of Innsbruck. He is a member of the advisory board of Imitatio, a nonprofit organization dedicated to René Girard’s mimetic theory.

• Contents Preface Preface to the English Edition 1. Life and Work of René Girard 2. Religion and Modernity 3. Mimetic Desire 4. The Scapegoat Mechanism as Origin of Culture 5. Biblical Revelation and Christianity 6. Political Implications of the Mimetic Theory 7. Mimetic Theory and Gender Chronology Notes Bibliography Index of Terms Index of Names

Palaver's survey of Girard's mimetic theory is the most thorough introduction to Girard's thought and its ramifications that has been written, uniting profound insight, clear explication, and a tremendous breadth of research.--James Williams, author of The Bible, Violence, and the Sacred and editor of The Girard ReaderA real tour de force, Palaver succeeds in situating mimetic theory in regard to major trends in contemporary thought, to document its relevance and contributions to various disciplines while simultaneously providing the most comprehensive and accessible introduction in any language.—Paul Dumouchel, Ritsumeikan UniversityWolfgang Palaver’s exploration of Rene Girard’s mimetic theory is comprehensive, thorough, and penetrating. He takes us into the heart of Girard’s anthropology of desire, while also tracing its rich implications for the contemporary study of politics, culture, gender, and religion. This English translation now makes available to a wider audience the definitive “must-read” account of one of the most important theoretical projects of our time.—Bruce K. Ward, Laurentian University