Morning Conferences: From Dialogue to the Sacrificial Rite and the Formation of Scapegoats

In order to achieve the objectives of transparency and accountability, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) has offered a press conference every morning since he took office. This situation seemed to be a transcendental change in the field of democratic dynamics and political communication in Mexico; however, not merely a means of communication, these conferences have instead become a method of government. Using postulates of Mimetic Theory, this essay analyzes AMLO’s conferences, showing how this daily practice has become propaganda for the regime.

Gandhi’s Militant Nonviolence in the Light of Girard’s Mimetic Anthropology

Nuclear rivalry, as well as terrorism and the war against terror, exemplify the dangerous escalation of violence that is threatening our world. Gandhi’s militant nonviolence offers a possible alternative that avoids a complacent indifference toward injustice as well as the imitation of violence that leads to its escalation. The French-American cultural anthropologist René Girard discovered mimetic rivalries as one of the main roots of human conflicts, and also highlighted the contagious nature of violence. This article shows that Gandhi shares these basic insights of Girard’s anthropology, which increases the plausibility of his plea for nonviolence. Reading Gandhi with Girard also complements Girard’s mimetic theory by offering an active practice of nonviolence as a response to violent threats, and by broadening the scope of its religious outreach. Gandhi’s reading of the Sermon on Mount not only renounces violence and retaliation like Girard but also underlines the need to actively break with evil. Both Gandhi and Girard also address the religious preconditions of nonviolent action by underlining the need to prefer godly over worldly pursuits, and to overcome the fear of death by God’s grace. This congruence shows that Girard’s anthropology is valid beyond its usual affinity with Judaism and Christianity.

Dysfunctional american dream reflected in arthur miller’s death of a salesman

The research aims to find the dysfunctional American Dreams; the causes of dysfunctional American Dreams and the effects of dysfunctional American Dreams experienced by the main character, Willy Lowman, as a representation of American society.This paper is examined by applying descriptive qualitative research paradigm which is naturally interpretative. Thus, the key instrument is the researcher herself who has the authority in managing and analyzing the data, and certainly producing meaning in the process of discussion and interpretations. Moreover, to facilitate her in collecting and identifying the data, she used supporting instrument in the form of table. This study, theoretically, applied the mimetic theory as the research approach.The researcher found that Arthur Miller uses the character of Willy Loman to represent the failure of the American Dream. Willy’s quest for the American Dream leads to his failure because throughout his life he pursues the illusion of the American Dream and not the reality of it. The unachievable part of Willy’s view of the American Dream is perfection. He has subordinated by the capitalism in which Willy belongs to the proletariat where his dream is a utopia. HIGHLIGHTS: The character of Willy Lowman represented the failure of American Dream because throughout his life he pursues the illusion of American Dream. Some misperceptions of American Dream have made Willy living in utopia and committing a suicide. The study represented that not all Americans or immigrants have the same perception of the American Dreams and not all of them can reach the dreams

Critical realism, mimetic theory and social work

Summary Scapegoating is a ubiquitous, yet pernicious, phenomenon in today’s world. It manifests in innumerable ways. Social work, in line with its emancipatory value-base, seeks to engage with various scapegoated groups to challenge the experience. In this article, the authors draw on critical realism and mimetic theory to elucidate the causative mechanisms fuelling scapegoating. This is done in order to heighten social workers’ insight into the process and empower targeted groups. Findings Mimetic theory highlights that scapegoating is a product of desire, rivalry and deflection. These are deep-seated mechanisms that are compatible with critical realist ontology and its search for causative properties in the social world. It is argued that critical realism augments mimetic theory by setting it within a much wider and deeper context of understanding. As such, it emphasizes intersecting causes and contingencies such as the role of temporal and spatial factors shaping the scapegoating experience. Applications Social workers can transform these theoretical insights into sensitizing constructs when they facilitate self-directed groupwork with scapegoated groups. Being theoretically informed, they can pose critical questions to group members to assist them to make the link between personal problems and political issues. The aim is to empower these groups so that they can embrace the sociological imagination and act for change.

Teoria Mimética e vulnerabilidade do sujeito – Ou: René Girard, Sigmund Freud e Oswald de Andrade | Mimetic Theory and the vulnerability of the subject – Or: René Girard, Sigmund Freud and Oswald de Andrade

ResumoEsse artigo propõe um contraponto entre a teoria mimética de René Girard, as considerações freudianas sobre sujeito e a obra de Oswald de Andrade. O sujeito mimético coincide com o sujeito antropofágico oswaldiano, pois idêntica divisa poderia defini-los, transformando o alheio em próprio, e transformá-lo a tal ponto que as fronteiras entre o eu e o outro se confundem. Cada um a seu modo, Oswald de Andrade e René Girard assimilaram criativamente a lição freudiana, especialmente a leitura de Totem e Tabu (1913). O pensador e poeta brasileiro inverteu os termos da equação, descobrindo “a transformação permanente do Tabu em totem”.Palavras-chave: Teoria Mimética Girardiana. Sujeito Mimético. Antropofagia em Oswald de Andrade. Totem e Tabu. AbstractThis article proposes a comparison among René Girard’s mimetic theory, Freudian assumptions on the self and Oswald de Andrade’s work. The mimetic self coincides with the Oswaldian anthropophagic subject, since the identical division could define them, transforming the other in the self, and transform it in such a way that the limits between the self and the other can be confused. Each one in his own way, Oswald de Andrade and René Girard assimilated creatively Freud’s lesson, especially the reading of Totem and Taboo (1913). The thinker and Brazilian poet inverted the terms in the formula, descovering ‘the permanent transformation of the Taboo in totem.’Keywords: Girardian Mimetic Theory. Mimetic Self. Anthropophagy in Oswald de Andrade. Totem and Taboo.

René Girard and His Critics: The Theological Compatibility and Framework of His Early Mimetic Theory

Theologians such as Sarah Coakley have recently argued that René Girard’s mimetic theory is incompatible with fundamental Catholic doctrines. Particular criticism is made of Girard’s early and foundational work on human desire and the formation of culture. In this essay, I address these major criticisms by systematically engaging Girard’s understandings of desire and culture from the earliest stages of his work. In doing this, I demonstrate the compatibility of his work with key Catholic doctrines and the way that Catholic theology provides an appropriate theological framework for Girard’s ideas, including from the earliest stages of his work.