Violence, Desire and the Sacred presents the most up-to-date inter-disciplinary work being developed with the ground-breaking insights of René Girard's mimetic theory. The collection showcases the work of outstanding scholars in mimetic theory and how they are applying and developing Girard's insights in a variety of fields. Girard's mimetic insight has provided a fruitful way for different disciplines, such as literature, anthropology, theology, religion studies, cultural studies, and philosophy, to engage on common anthropological ground, with a shared understanding of the human person. The aim of this edited collection is to present this interdisciplinary work and to illustrate how Girard's insights provide fertile ground for bringing together disparate disciplines in a shared purpose. As academic work on Girard's insights is growing, this collection would meet the need to show the critical, interdisciplinary applications of these insights. 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.