This very impressive volume shows how mimetic theory has broken free of its transatlantic origins, inspiring first-rate scholarship from around the world, most notably Australia. The interdisplinary richness of the theory remains intact: established scholars and new voices provide the customary insightful readings of theological and literary texts, alongside new trajectories, in history and in neuroscience. Violence, Desire and the Sacred is an indispensible survey of the state of play with regard to the latest wave of Girardian studies.

Dr Michael Kirwan SJ, Head of Theology, Heythrop College, University of London

A fascinating contribution to the growing intellectual excitement about a major insight into the causes and possible cures for the violence that threatens us from within and without. René Girard's mimetic theory brings together not just philosophers, theologians, and literary people, but also theoreticians and practitioners from practically all the social and natural sciences to talk about and work toward lessening the internal and external violence that threatens our human existence. Remarkable that such a rich conversation could come from just one country!

Robert J. Daly, S.J., Professor Emeritus of Theology, Boston College

This superbly-edited collection addresses the key issues in mimetic theory for this century, all of which require the interdisciplinary approach followed here. Readers who have been following the resurgent interest in René Girard's work will recognize the names of James Alison, Wolfgang Palaver, Jeremiah Alberg and Chris Fleming. To the centers already known at Stanford, Paris and Innsbruck, which generate scholarship and attract fellow researchers as students and colleagues, we must now add The Australian Girard Seminar.

William A. Johnsen, Editor, Contagion. Journal of Violence, Mimesis, and Culture