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The Scapegoat
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The Scapegoat Paperback - 1989

by René Girard

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From the publisher

Widely regarded as one of the most profound critics of our time, Ren Girard has pursued a powerful line of inquiry across the fields of the humanities and the social sciences. His theories, which the French press has termed "l'hypothse girardienne," have sparked interdisciplinary, even international, controversy. In The Scapegoat, Girard applies his approach to "texts of persecution," documents that recount phenomena of collective violence from the standpoint of the persecutor--documents such as the medieval poet Guillaume de Machaut's Judgement of the King of Navarre, which blames the Jews for the Black Death and describes their mass murder.

Girard compares persecution texts with myths, most notably with the myth of Oedipus, and finds strikingly similar themes and structures. Could myths regularly conceal texts of persecution? Girard's answers lies in a study of the Christian Passion, which represents the same central event, the same collective violence, found in all mythology, but which is read from the point of view of the innocent victim. The Passion text provides the model interpretation that has enabled Western culture to demystify its own violence--a demystification Girard now extends to mythology.

Underlying Girard's daring textual hypothesis is a powerful theory of history and culture. Christ's rejection of all guilt breaks the mythic cycle of violence and the sacred. The scapegoat becomes the Lamb of God; "the foolish genesis of blood-stained idols and the false gods of superstition, politics, and ideologies" are revealed.

First line

GUILLAUME DE MACHAUT was a French poet of the mid-fourteenth century.

From the rear cover

In 'The Scapegoat', the author audaciously turns to classical mythology, medieval narrative, and the New Testament to explore the scenes behind 'texts of persecution, ' documents that recount collective violence from the standpoint of the persecutor.

Details

  • Title The Scapegoat
  • Author René Girard
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition Reprint
  • Pages 232
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore
  • Publication date August 1, 1989
  • ISBN 9780801839177
  • Themes
    • Religious Orientation: Christian

About the author

Ren Girard is a Andrew B. Hammond Professor of French Language, Literature and Civilization at Stanford University. Two of his books, Deceit, Desire, and the Novel, which was also translated by Yvonne Freccero, and Violence and the Sacred, are available from Johns Hopkins University Press.

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Scapegoat
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Scapegoat

by René Girard

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Johns Hopkins University Press, August 1989. Trade . Very Good. Very Good Softcover. Light shelfwear to covers. Pages clean and tight in binding. Pictures available upon request. A locally owned, independent book shop since 1984.
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The Scapegoat
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by Girard, Rene,

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The Scapegoat
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The Scapegoat 6e

The Scapegoat 6e

by Girard, Rene/ Freccero, Yvonne (Translator)

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The Scapegoat
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The Scapegoat

by Girard, Rene,

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The Scapegoat 6e

by Girard, Rene/ Freccero, Yvonne (Translator)

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Johns Hopkins Univ Pr, 1989. Paperback. New. reprint edition. 232 pages. 9.25x6.00x0.75 inches.
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The Scapegoat
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The Scapegoat

by Girard, Ren?

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780801839177 / 0801839173
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Johns Hopkins University Press, 1989-08-01. paperback. New. 6.00x0.75x9.25. Buy with confidence. Excellent Customer Service & Return policy.
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The Scapegoat
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The Scapegoat

by Girard, René

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
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The Scapegoat
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The Scapegoat

by Girard, René; Freccero, Yvonne [Translator]

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780801839177 / 0801839173
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Johns Hopkins University Press, 1989-08-01. Paperback. New. New. In shrink wrap. Looks like an interesting title!
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A$143.22
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