POLITICS,
VIOLENCE AND THE SACRED:
Exploring
René Girard’s thought in Security and International Studies
University
of Central Lancashire, UK
23-24
May 2013
“Order
in human culture certainly does arise from an extreme of disorder, for such disorder
is the disappearance of any and all contested objects in the midst of conflict,
and it is at such a point that acquisitive mimesis is transformed into conflictual
mimesis and tends toward the unification of conflict against an adversary.”
René
Girard, Things Hidden since the Foundation of the World
RATIONALE
René
Girard (1923) is arguably one of the most important scholars of our time. His corpus
of reflections on religion, violence and mimetic theory has been acknowledged as
one of the most striking approaches to human culture ever presented, to the point
that it has been argued that his work has changed forever “the way we think about
who and where we are” (Philosophy and Literature). In recent years, his thought
has been studied and explored in many academic fields, including anthropology and
literature, philosophy and sociology, history and psychology. These studies have
generated a number of Girard-inspired research engagements and projects as witnessed
by the creation ofThe Colloquium on Violence & Religion (COV&R) and
Imitatio. Despite the strong assonance between Girardian themes and contemporary
international issues and security challenges, scholars have not yet explored the
implications of Girardian ideas for Security and more broadly International Relations.
The
aim of the Conference is bring together a range of scholars in international relations,
security, social and political theory which may develop a multidisciplinary engagement
with René Girard’s work and its relevance for contemporary International Studies.
A Special Issueof a journal and/or an edited volume is also envisaged as an outcome
of the event.
Keynote
Speakers includes:
Dr
Michael Kirwan, Head of Theology, Heythrop College, University of London and author
of Girard and Theology (New York & London: Continuum, 2009); Discovering
Girard (London: Darton, 2004)
Dr
Scott Thomas, Senior Lecturer in International Relations, University of Bath, and
author of The Global Resurgence of Religion and the Transformation of International
Relations (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005)
We
invite potential participants from across these disciplines to submit abstracts
of no more than 250 words by February 15th 2013drawing upon, but not
limited to, such issues as:
THEORY
The
relation between violence, the sacred and the “political”
Comparisons
between Girard’s thought and that of other classical thinkers such as Thomas Hobbes,
Carl von Clausewitz, Reinhold Niebuhr, Carl Schmitt, Max Weber, Hans Morgenthau,
George Bataille, Michel Foucault, Giorgio Agamben
Religion,
sovereignty and the sacrality of borders
The
international system and the “mimetic” balance of power
The
transcendence/immanence split and political mediation
Christendom,
political theologies and the origins of modernity
War,
peace and the victimization process
Biopolitics
and the sacrality of violence
ISSUES
AND CASE STUDIES
“Mimetic
rivalry” and foreign policy
Fundamentalisms,
extremisms and the scapegoat theory
Terrorism,
human security and “sacrifice”
Capitalism,
desire and the victimization of the “other”
Revolutions,
“mimetic desire” and the scapegoat
Nuclear
deterrence, imitation mechanism and (in)stability
Financial
crises and the vicious circle of rivalry
Please
send abstracts with “2013 Girard Conference” in subject line to:
Dr
Antonio Cerella: acerella@uclan.ac.uk
Conference
blog: http://renegirard2013.wordpress.com/
Please
address any inquiries to:
Dr
Antonio Cerella
Lecturer
in International Relations
School
of Education and Social Sciences
University
of Central Lancashire
Preston
PR1 2EH
Lancashire,
UK
Office:
+44 (0) 1772 892798
