Desire, Violence, and the Sacred: Introduction to Rene Girard's Theory

A critical introduction to one of the most ambitious theories in the human and social sciences, which has the potential to revolutionize them, including anthropology, sociology, economics, but also philosophy and theology. Professor Girard (1923 - 2015) taught at Stanford for more than twenty years and is internationally recognized as one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th century. This seminar will be anything but an exercise in proselytism. It will keep a critical distance towards the theory, questioning its internal consistency as well as putting it to the test of actual facts and events.