Louis Burkhardt Academic/Literary/Philosophical Interests

In addition to receiving the current literary training offered by my doctoral program (University of Colorado, 1993), I fortunately heard, then read, then met Renè Girard, one of the best thinkers of the latter half of the 20th century. His honest and honorable character validated my respect for his writings and their significance. Therefore, it is to his work that my academic (and personal) interests lean.

• Here are a few references and links to theories of imitative desire, scapegoating, and, if your universe allows it, grace...
• Renè Girard's theories of these things, including the non-sacrificial character of the Gospels (see the database that contains many of Girard-related articles);
• The Colloquium on Violence and Religion (COV&R), which works with Girard's theories;
• Dietmar Regensburger's compilation of much information related to Girard. While the bibliography is vast and should be consulted directly, I will mention a few authors that I encountered early in my research. I have gained much from the writings and tapes of Gil Bailie as well as the books of Robert Hamerton-Kelly. Cesareo Bandera figures in my experience as a wonderful contact. His own research applies the mimetic theory to the development of the novel, treating it as an outgrowth of the consciousness/conscience made possible by the gospels' univocal representation of Jesus as a clearly innocent victim who nonetheless is victimized precisely as he himself predicts. In addition to these writers are many comparable authors working with the mimetic theory and the scapegoat hypothesis.

• academic papers in Adobe's Portable Document Format (www.adobe.com):
• William Golding's Vision of Violence (in The Inheritors), and
• Spectator Seduction in Shakespeare's Measure for Measure)
 

• L. Burkhardt's Vita (html)
• L. Burkhardt's Vita (pdf)