JAN 303-01 - René Girard’s Theatre of Envy

Level:  300-level

Course Times:  12:00pm - 2:40pm

Course Materials Fee:  $0

Instructor(s):  Patrick Downey   

Email:  pdowney@stmarys-ca.edu

From Silicon Valley to the White House, probably the most influential thinker in the world today is the late René Girard.  What, then, is the best way to understand that thinking?  This class will argue that the best way is to see how he reads his Shakespeare. Whether you are familiar with Shakespeare or not, reading these two together should prove an illuminating exercise in understanding ourselves and the world around us. Take, for example, the common human vice of envy. Girard argues the 10th Commandment against coveting, which is to say,  envy, explains every other sin in the Bible, starting with Adam and Eve’s coveting of God’s knowledge of good and evil.  Overcoming that envy is at the heart of Christ’s Passion. Shakespeare, he argues, would agree.  To see what he means by this, we will attempt to understand Girard’s theory of  “mimetic rivalry,” “triangulation” and scapegoating violence, by reading how he interprets Shakespeare’s major plays.  From “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” through “Julius Caesar” and “A Winter’s Tale,” we will use these plays to see the otherwise hidden connection between envy, sin, Christ’s crucifixion, and his Resurrection.

Prerequisites & Notes
SEM 250 or SEM 327

Credits: 3