Author: James Alison
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1137538252
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 526
Book Description
The Palgrave Handbook of Mimetic Theory and Religion draws on the expertise of leading scholars and thinkers to explore the violent origins of culture, the meaning of ritual, and the conjunction of theology and anthropology, as well as secularization, science, and terrorism. Authors assess the contributions of René Girard’s mimetic theory to our understanding of sacrifice, ancient tragedy, and post-modernity, and apply its insights to religious cinema and the global economy. This handbook serves as introduction and guide to a theory of religion and human behavior that has established itself as fertile terrain for scholarly research and intellectual reflection.
The Palgrave Handbook of Mimetic Theory and Religion
Author: James Alison
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1137538252
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 526
Book Description
The Palgrave Handbook of Mimetic Theory and Religion draws on the expertise of leading scholars and thinkers to explore the violent origins of culture, the meaning of ritual, and the conjunction of theology and anthropology, as well as secularization, science, and terrorism. Authors assess the contributions of René Girard’s mimetic theory to our understanding of sacrifice, ancient tragedy, and post-modernity, and apply its insights to religious cinema and the global economy. This handbook serves as introduction and guide to a theory of religion and human behavior that has established itself as fertile terrain for scholarly research and intellectual reflection.
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1137538252
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 526
Book Description
The Palgrave Handbook of Mimetic Theory and Religion draws on the expertise of leading scholars and thinkers to explore the violent origins of culture, the meaning of ritual, and the conjunction of theology and anthropology, as well as secularization, science, and terrorism. Authors assess the contributions of René Girard’s mimetic theory to our understanding of sacrifice, ancient tragedy, and post-modernity, and apply its insights to religious cinema and the global economy. This handbook serves as introduction and guide to a theory of religion and human behavior that has established itself as fertile terrain for scholarly research and intellectual reflection.
Toward an Islamic Theology of Nonviolence
Author: Adnane Mokrani
Publisher: MSU Press
ISBN: 1628954671
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 171
Book Description
This groundbreaking book offers the first systematic study of the Qur’ān and Islamic history in the light of René Girard’s mimetic theory. Girard did not deal deeply with Islam, offering only scattered hints in some interviews after the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. Addressing this gap in Girardian studies, Adnane Mokrani aims to develop an Islamic theology that goes beyond just war theory to adopt a radical nonviolent approach. He analyzes the Qur’ānic text and classical and modern exegetical literature, focusing on the Qur’ānic narratives, then extends his research to the history of Islam, removing the sacred character attributed to some events and human choices in order to disarm theology and dismantle the ideologies of power. This same critique is also applied to the unprecedented levels of violence in modern and contemporary history. A radical and politically committed theology of peace is needed to recover the spiritual dimension of religion that frees people from the temptations of the individual and collective ego. It is a mystical and narrative theology in dialogue with other world theologies on the future of humanity—an urgent appeal needed now more than ever.
Publisher: MSU Press
ISBN: 1628954671
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 171
Book Description
This groundbreaking book offers the first systematic study of the Qur’ān and Islamic history in the light of René Girard’s mimetic theory. Girard did not deal deeply with Islam, offering only scattered hints in some interviews after the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. Addressing this gap in Girardian studies, Adnane Mokrani aims to develop an Islamic theology that goes beyond just war theory to adopt a radical nonviolent approach. He analyzes the Qur’ānic text and classical and modern exegetical literature, focusing on the Qur’ānic narratives, then extends his research to the history of Islam, removing the sacred character attributed to some events and human choices in order to disarm theology and dismantle the ideologies of power. This same critique is also applied to the unprecedented levels of violence in modern and contemporary history. A radical and politically committed theology of peace is needed to recover the spiritual dimension of religion that frees people from the temptations of the individual and collective ego. It is a mystical and narrative theology in dialogue with other world theologies on the future of humanity—an urgent appeal needed now more than ever.
René Girard, Theology, and Pop Culture
Author: Ryan G. Duns
Publisher: Lexington Books
ISBN: 1978710097
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 265
Book Description
In René Girard, Theology, and Popular Culture, fifteen contributors consider how Girard’s mimetic theory can be used to uncover and probe the theological depths of popular culture. Creative and critical engagement with Girard’s theory enables the contributors to offer fresh and exciting interpretations of movies (The Devil Wears Prada, Mean Girls, Star Wars), television (Hoarders, Cobra Kai), classical literature and graphic novels, and issues ranging from anorexia to social media. The result is a volume that establishes Girard as an innovative interpreter of culture and shows him as an invaluable guide for theologically reflecting on desire, violence, redemption, and forgiveness. Written in fresh and lively prose, the contributors demonstrate not only that Girard provides a powerful lens through which to view culture but also—and more provocatively—challenge readers to consider what popular culture reveals about them. Readers looking for an accessible introduction to mimetic theory and exploring its theological application will find this a welcome resource.
Publisher: Lexington Books
ISBN: 1978710097
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 265
Book Description
In René Girard, Theology, and Popular Culture, fifteen contributors consider how Girard’s mimetic theory can be used to uncover and probe the theological depths of popular culture. Creative and critical engagement with Girard’s theory enables the contributors to offer fresh and exciting interpretations of movies (The Devil Wears Prada, Mean Girls, Star Wars), television (Hoarders, Cobra Kai), classical literature and graphic novels, and issues ranging from anorexia to social media. The result is a volume that establishes Girard as an innovative interpreter of culture and shows him as an invaluable guide for theologically reflecting on desire, violence, redemption, and forgiveness. Written in fresh and lively prose, the contributors demonstrate not only that Girard provides a powerful lens through which to view culture but also—and more provocatively—challenge readers to consider what popular culture reveals about them. Readers looking for an accessible introduction to mimetic theory and exploring its theological application will find this a welcome resource.
East Timor, René Girard and Neocolonial Violence
Author: Susan Connelly
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350161497
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 257
Book Description
In a new historical interpretation of the relationship between Australia and East Timor, Susan Connelly draws on the mimetic theory of René Girard to show how the East Timorese people were scapegoated by Australian foreign policy during the 20th century. Charting key developments in East Timor's history and applying three aspects of Girard's framework – the scapegoat, texts of persecution and conversion – Connelly reveals Australia's mimetic dependence on Indonesia and other nations for security. She argues that Australia's complicity in the Indonesian invasion and occupation of East Timor perpetuated the sacrifice of the Timorese people as victims, thus calling into question the traditional Australian values of egalitarianism and fairness. Connelly also examines the embryonic conversion process apparent in levels of recognition of the innocent victim and of the Australian role in East Timor's suffering, as well as the consequent effects on Australian self-perception. Emphasising Girardian considerations of fear, suffering, forgiveness and conversion, this book offers a fresh perspective on Australian and Timorese relations that in turn sheds light on the origins and operations of human violence.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350161497
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 257
Book Description
In a new historical interpretation of the relationship between Australia and East Timor, Susan Connelly draws on the mimetic theory of René Girard to show how the East Timorese people were scapegoated by Australian foreign policy during the 20th century. Charting key developments in East Timor's history and applying three aspects of Girard's framework – the scapegoat, texts of persecution and conversion – Connelly reveals Australia's mimetic dependence on Indonesia and other nations for security. She argues that Australia's complicity in the Indonesian invasion and occupation of East Timor perpetuated the sacrifice of the Timorese people as victims, thus calling into question the traditional Australian values of egalitarianism and fairness. Connelly also examines the embryonic conversion process apparent in levels of recognition of the innocent victim and of the Australian role in East Timor's suffering, as well as the consequent effects on Australian self-perception. Emphasising Girardian considerations of fear, suffering, forgiveness and conversion, this book offers a fresh perspective on Australian and Timorese relations that in turn sheds light on the origins and operations of human violence.
The Truth of Mankind
Author: Cesáreo Bandera
Publisher: Angelico Press
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 221
Book Description
The Truth of Mankind draws on Cesáreo Bandera’s long lifetime of critical experience and literary scholarship. Bandera is not only a celebrated and distinguished interpreter of Latin and Greek literature, of Cervantes and Calderón, and many other seminal figures, but was also a friend and colleague of the late René Girard, the celebrated Catholic theorist of the “scapegoat mechanism” as the fundamental logic underlying all human communities and polities; and in the field of literary studies, he is considered a decisive interlocutor of Girard. Through striking readings of Biblical texts, of Cervantes, of Virgil, and, above all, of Girard’s own works, Bandera raises a fundamental question about Girard’s theory. Can it really, as Girard himself thought, be articulated in a way that does not rely on any particular theological standpoint? Or is it instead, as Bandera argues, intimately dependent on the revealed truth of Christ on the cross—a revealed truth which Girard, as a believing Catholic, himself confessed? The Truth of Mankind will be of interest not only to all who wish to understand Girard’s thinking and its relationship to Christianity, but also to anyone seeking to understand how Christianity can address the most urgent social and ethical questions faced by human life on this planet.
Publisher: Angelico Press
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 221
Book Description
The Truth of Mankind draws on Cesáreo Bandera’s long lifetime of critical experience and literary scholarship. Bandera is not only a celebrated and distinguished interpreter of Latin and Greek literature, of Cervantes and Calderón, and many other seminal figures, but was also a friend and colleague of the late René Girard, the celebrated Catholic theorist of the “scapegoat mechanism” as the fundamental logic underlying all human communities and polities; and in the field of literary studies, he is considered a decisive interlocutor of Girard. Through striking readings of Biblical texts, of Cervantes, of Virgil, and, above all, of Girard’s own works, Bandera raises a fundamental question about Girard’s theory. Can it really, as Girard himself thought, be articulated in a way that does not rely on any particular theological standpoint? Or is it instead, as Bandera argues, intimately dependent on the revealed truth of Christ on the cross—a revealed truth which Girard, as a believing Catholic, himself confessed? The Truth of Mankind will be of interest not only to all who wish to understand Girard’s thinking and its relationship to Christianity, but also to anyone seeking to understand how Christianity can address the most urgent social and ethical questions faced by human life on this planet.
The Routledge International Handbook of Spirituality in Society and the Professions
Author: Laszlo Zsolnai
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1315445468
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 691
Book Description
Increasingly, it is being recognized that spirituality, defined here as "a multiform search for a transcendent meaning of life that connects them to all living beings and brings them in touch with God or ‘Ultimate Reality,’" is an aspect of almost every sphere and aspect of social life. It appears in humanity’s dealings with nature, home and community, healing, economics and business, knowledge, and education. The Routledge International Handbook of Spirituality in Society and the Professions is a stimulating collection that summarizes the most important issues, frameworks, discussions, and problems relating to spiritually inspired activities in different fields of social life. The contributors explore how spirituality is a part of existence and present approaches and models for professionals working in diverse areas. Presented in seven parts, the book provides a full overview of current research and practice. Part II, "Facets of spirituality," explores topics including philosophy, psychology, theology, and culture. Part III, "Nature," looks at ecology, agriculture, cities, and tourism. Part IV, "Home and community," presents chapters on various life stages, disability, gender, and culture. Part V, "Healing," examines medicine, mental and physical health, and ill-health. In Part VI, "Economy, politics, and law," contributors discuss business, leadership and the workplace, peace, and policing. Part VII, "Knowledge and education," includes chapters on science, design, fashion, literature, and the arts. In the final part, "Way forward," the editors look to the future with a chapter on inter-spirituality and the renewal of social practices. Driven by contemporary research and new developments, this Handbook is an innovative and interdisciplinary collection that provides an essential overview of contemporary spirituality and society from an international selection of contributors. The Routledge International Handbook of Spirituality in Society and the Professions offers accessible, diverse, and engaging international research, and its scope will appeal to academics and students of a wide range of subjects, including aging and addiction, psychology, theology, religious studies, sociology, business studies, and philosophy. It will also be an important work for professionals in medical and social services, the clergy, education, business, the arts, religious communities, and politics, and members of organizations looking at the links between spirituality, religion, and society.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1315445468
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 691
Book Description
Increasingly, it is being recognized that spirituality, defined here as "a multiform search for a transcendent meaning of life that connects them to all living beings and brings them in touch with God or ‘Ultimate Reality,’" is an aspect of almost every sphere and aspect of social life. It appears in humanity’s dealings with nature, home and community, healing, economics and business, knowledge, and education. The Routledge International Handbook of Spirituality in Society and the Professions is a stimulating collection that summarizes the most important issues, frameworks, discussions, and problems relating to spiritually inspired activities in different fields of social life. The contributors explore how spirituality is a part of existence and present approaches and models for professionals working in diverse areas. Presented in seven parts, the book provides a full overview of current research and practice. Part II, "Facets of spirituality," explores topics including philosophy, psychology, theology, and culture. Part III, "Nature," looks at ecology, agriculture, cities, and tourism. Part IV, "Home and community," presents chapters on various life stages, disability, gender, and culture. Part V, "Healing," examines medicine, mental and physical health, and ill-health. In Part VI, "Economy, politics, and law," contributors discuss business, leadership and the workplace, peace, and policing. Part VII, "Knowledge and education," includes chapters on science, design, fashion, literature, and the arts. In the final part, "Way forward," the editors look to the future with a chapter on inter-spirituality and the renewal of social practices. Driven by contemporary research and new developments, this Handbook is an innovative and interdisciplinary collection that provides an essential overview of contemporary spirituality and society from an international selection of contributors. The Routledge International Handbook of Spirituality in Society and the Professions offers accessible, diverse, and engaging international research, and its scope will appeal to academics and students of a wide range of subjects, including aging and addiction, psychology, theology, religious studies, sociology, business studies, and philosophy. It will also be an important work for professionals in medical and social services, the clergy, education, business, the arts, religious communities, and politics, and members of organizations looking at the links between spirituality, religion, and society.
Capital Punishment in the Pentateuch
Author: Simon Skidmore
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0567707229
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 233
Book Description
Through the application of mimetic theory Skidmore examines the social impact of capital punishment upon the community, and explores the cathartic nature of this practice within key Pentateuchal texts. Skidmore shows how Mimetic theorists such as Girard advance a view that a community ravaged by vengeance and blood feuds may be saved from extinction by scapegoating one of their own. As the community select a common scapegoat, and vent their collective violence upon this person, peace and order are restored. Though an in-depth analysis of various passages, Skidmore reveals this process in key Pentateuchal texts concerning capital punishment. These observations suggest that biblical capital punishment may have functioned as a means of protecting the Israelite community by managing rivalry and violence.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0567707229
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 233
Book Description
Through the application of mimetic theory Skidmore examines the social impact of capital punishment upon the community, and explores the cathartic nature of this practice within key Pentateuchal texts. Skidmore shows how Mimetic theorists such as Girard advance a view that a community ravaged by vengeance and blood feuds may be saved from extinction by scapegoating one of their own. As the community select a common scapegoat, and vent their collective violence upon this person, peace and order are restored. Though an in-depth analysis of various passages, Skidmore reveals this process in key Pentateuchal texts concerning capital punishment. These observations suggest that biblical capital punishment may have functioned as a means of protecting the Israelite community by managing rivalry and violence.
Transforming the Sacred into Saintliness
Author: Wolfgang Palaver
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108595146
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 149
Book Description
Studies into religion and violence often put religion first. René Girard started with violence in his book Violence and the Sacred and used the Durkheimian term 'sacred' as its correlate in his study of early religions. During the unfolding of his theory, he more and more distinguished the sacred from saintliness to address the break that the biblical revelation represented in comparison to early religions. This distinction between the sacred and saintliness resembles Henri Bergson's complementing Emile Durkheim's identification of the sacred and society with a dynamic religion that relies on individual mystics. Girard's distinction also relates to the insights of thinkers like Jacques Maritain, Simone Weil, and Emmanuel Levinas. This element explores some of Girard's main features of saintliness. Girard pleaded for the transformation of the sacred into holy, not their separation.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108595146
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 149
Book Description
Studies into religion and violence often put religion first. René Girard started with violence in his book Violence and the Sacred and used the Durkheimian term 'sacred' as its correlate in his study of early religions. During the unfolding of his theory, he more and more distinguished the sacred from saintliness to address the break that the biblical revelation represented in comparison to early religions. This distinction between the sacred and saintliness resembles Henri Bergson's complementing Emile Durkheim's identification of the sacred and society with a dynamic religion that relies on individual mystics. Girard's distinction also relates to the insights of thinkers like Jacques Maritain, Simone Weil, and Emmanuel Levinas. This element explores some of Girard's main features of saintliness. Girard pleaded for the transformation of the sacred into holy, not their separation.
Mimesis and Sacrifice
Author: Marcia Pally
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350057428
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 264
Book Description
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.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350057428
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 264
Book Description
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.
René Girard and the Western Philosophical Tradition, volume 1
Author: Andreas Wilmes
Publisher: MSU Press
ISBN: 1628955252
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 336
Book Description
This edited volume situates René Girard in relation to the Western philosophical tradition. Each chapter engages the French anthropologist in dialogue with a key figure from the history of Western philosophy, from Plato to Kierkegaard. The pivotal question of René Girard and the Western Philosophical Tradition revolves around Girard’s assertion, “Since the attempt to understand religion on the basis of philosophy has failed, we ought to try the reverse method and read philosophy in the light of religion.” Major philosophers influenced Girard and contributed valuable insights into questions of desire, religion, violence, and the sacred. At the same time, he felt that Western philosophy often, if not always, neglected the founding violence that lies at the origin of culture. This is the first collective scholarly effort at situating René Girard in relation to the Western philosophical tradition. Volume 1 features chapters on Plato, Augustine of Hippo, Niccolò Machiavelli, Thomas Hobbes, Blaise Pascal, Baruch Spinoza, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Adam Smith, Immanuel Kant, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, Alexis de Tocqueville, Søren Kierkegaard, and René Girard.
Publisher: MSU Press
ISBN: 1628955252
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 336
Book Description
This edited volume situates René Girard in relation to the Western philosophical tradition. Each chapter engages the French anthropologist in dialogue with a key figure from the history of Western philosophy, from Plato to Kierkegaard. The pivotal question of René Girard and the Western Philosophical Tradition revolves around Girard’s assertion, “Since the attempt to understand religion on the basis of philosophy has failed, we ought to try the reverse method and read philosophy in the light of religion.” Major philosophers influenced Girard and contributed valuable insights into questions of desire, religion, violence, and the sacred. At the same time, he felt that Western philosophy often, if not always, neglected the founding violence that lies at the origin of culture. This is the first collective scholarly effort at situating René Girard in relation to the Western philosophical tradition. Volume 1 features chapters on Plato, Augustine of Hippo, Niccolò Machiavelli, Thomas Hobbes, Blaise Pascal, Baruch Spinoza, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Adam Smith, Immanuel Kant, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, Alexis de Tocqueville, Søren Kierkegaard, and René Girard.