Mimesis and Science: Empirical Research on Imitation and the Mimetic Theory of Culture and Religion
by Scott R. Garrels This exciting compendium brings together, for the first time, some of the foremost scholars of René Girard’s mimetic theory of culture, with leading imitation researchers from the cognitive, developmental, and neuro-sciences. These chapters explore some of the major discoveries and developments concerning the foundational, yet previously overlooked, role of imitation in […]
Conrad’s Shadow: Catastrophe, Mimesis, Theory – by Nidesh Lawtoo
Western thought has often dismissed shadows as fictional, but what if fictions reveal original truths? Drawing on an anti-Platonic tradition in critical theory, Lawton adopts ethical, anthropological, and philosophical lenses to offer new readings of Joseph Conrad’s novels and the postcolonial and cinematic works that respond to his oeuvre. He argues that Conrad’s fascination with […]
To Double Business Bound: Essays on Literature, Mimesis and Anthropology – by René Girard
An individual desires an object, not for itself, but because another individual also desires it. This mimetic desire, Rene Girard contends, lies at the source of all human disorder and order. In brilliant readings of Dante, Camus, Nietzsche, Dostoevski, Levi-Strauss, Freud, and others, Girard draws out the thesis of mimetic desire — and ponders its […]
Mimesis and Theory: Essays on Literature and Criticism, 1953-2005
Mimesis and Theory bring together twenty of René Girard’s uncollected essays on literature and literary theory, which, along with his classic, Deceit, Desire, and the Novel, have left an indelible mark on the field of literary and cultural studies. Spanning over fifty years of critical production, this anthology offers unique insights into the origin, development, and expansion […]