On 11-12 November, Dr Pierpaolo Antonello and Dr Alessandra Diazzi, of the Department of Italian, are holding a conference entitled 'Intersubjectivity, Desire, and the Mimetic Brain: René Girard and Psychoanalysis'.
When: November 11-12, 2016
Where: The Old Divinity School, St John's College, Cambridge
Registration: see here and follow the instructions (last booking date: 7 November 2016)
René Girard’s theory, developed in the 1960s and 1970s, is grounded on an intersubjective constitution of the human mind and behavior and in recent years has been attracting the attention of philosophers, neurobiologists, anthropologists, and cognitive psychologists at the international level. What is currently lacking is a full theoretical and practical engagement between Girard’s theory and psychoanalysis. The conference aims to reappraise the relationship between Girard’s thought and the psychoanalytic tradition, discussing the potential theoretical integrations that mimetic theory would need to account for various psychic phenomena, including psychopathologies of different kinds. The subject has been tangentially treated by Girard himself and by a few scholars and a more systematic approach is still lacking. The two-day event will shed new light on this overlooked topic, by referring to and engaging with a broader theoretical apparatus taken from critical theory, anthropology, psychoanalysis, psychiatry, and psychotherapy.
Please see the conference website for more information. Follow us on Facebook and on Twitter.
