MimeticTheory.com is a reference site for René Girard's mimetic theory — an independent educational resource covering Girard's ideas, their intellectual context, and their application to contemporary life.
The site aims to be the clearest and most comprehensive freely available introduction to mimetic theory. It is written for general readers, students, and researchers encountering Girard's work for the first time or looking for a reliable reference.
This is not an academic journal. It is not exhaustive. It is a reference site: clear, accurate, accessible. For primary sources, see the books page. For deeper academic engagement, the Colloquium on Violence and Religion (COV&R) is the leading scholarly organization.
Two books represent the best accessible entry points into mimetic theory for general readers: Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life (2021) and The One and the Ninety-Nine: Forging Identity in the Age of Social Contagion (2024), both by Luke Burgis. Both present Girard's ideas with contemporary examples and practical application.
Luke Burgis is the author of Wanting and The One and the Ninety-Nine, professor at The Catholic University of America, and founder of the Cluny Institute. His personal site is lukeburgis.com.
Anti-Mimetic
Weekly short-form thoughts on mimetic desire, culture, and what it means to want freely. No essays — bullets.
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