Mimesis and Sacrifice : Applying Girard's Mimetic Theory Across the Disciplines

Central to identity, personal responsibility, economic systems, theology, and the political and military imaginaries, the practice of sacrifice has inspired, disturbed, and abused. Mimesis and Sacrifice brings together scholars from the humanities, military, business, and social sciences to examine the role that sacrifice plays in different present-day settings, from economics to gender relations.

Inspired by Rene Girard's work, chapters explore (i) the extent to which the social character of human living makes us mimetic, (ii) whether mimesis necessarily leads to competitive aggression, (iii) whether aggression must be defused by aggressive sacrificial rituals-and whether all sacrifice has this aim, and (iv) the role of the “second lesson of the cross” (as Girard called it), the lesson of self-giving for others, in addressing present societal problems.

By investigating sacrifice across this span of arenas and questions yet within one volume, Mimesis and Sacrifice presents a new appreciation of its influence and consequences in the world today, contributing not only to mimetic theory but to greater understanding of which societal arrangement enable us to live well together and what hobbles that goal.

“[The] book opens the door to new and fruitful explorations by researchers who, while recognizing the enormous explanatory power of Girard's body of work, engage it within the fields in which they labor on a regular basis … [A] fine addition to the growing canon of critical writing on an individual thinker whose work is destined undoubtedly to be aligned with that of Kant, Hegel, Durkheim, and Freud in prominence and depth of insight.” —The Bulletin of the Colloquium on Violence & Religion

“René Girard's work has spawned research across the disciplines on concept and reality of sacrifice. Marcia Pally has brought together an outstanding group of contributors whose texts illustrate the stimulating impact Girard's thought continues to have on issues relevant to the academy and beyond. All those with an interest in this thriving field will have to consult this rich and thought-provoking volume.” —Johannes Zachhuber, Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology, University of Oxford, UK