Stanford Profile on René Girard

The Stanford Report  recently profiled Rene Girard, the university’s Andrew B. Hammond Professor of French Language, Literature, and Civilization. The article highlights Girard’s global influence, his thoughts on war and human nature, and his prolific writing, which has not slowed even as his 85th birthday nears.

Recently, he has published Mimesis and Theory: Essays on Literature and Criticism, 195 3-2005 (2008) and will publish the forthcoming English translation of Achever Clausewitz (Michigan State University Press). Girard is currently working on a book on St. Paul.

A foundation called Imitatio has been launched in order to promote his ideas worldwide, much to the joy of his scholarly fans (dubbed “Girardians”). Imitatio is sponsoring 2008’s Colloquium on Violence and Religion conference “Catastrophe and Conversion: Political Thinking for the New Millenium” where Girard will be a keynote speaker, along with Jack Miles, W.J.T. Mitchell, Gianni Vattimo, and Stanford’s Jean-Pierre Dupuy. The conference will take place at the University of California, Riverside from June 18-22.