What Matters to Me and Why: Rene Girard, guest speaker

Rene Girard, Professor of French Language, Literature & Civilization and Professor of Comparative Literature, Emeritus, will be the featured speaker at this lecture series encouraging reflection within the Stanford community on matters of personal values, beliefs, and motivations. All are welcome. Bring your lunch if you like.

Rene Girard was born in Avignon and trained in medieval history at the Ecole des Chartes in Paris from which he received the degree of archiviste-paléographe in 1947. He came to the United States in the same year to teach French language and literature at Indiana University where he completed a Ph.D. in modern French history in 1950. He has held positions at Bryn Mawr College, Johns Hopkins University, State University of New York at Buffalo, and is currently Professor emeritus at Stanford University. He holds honorary degrees from several European and American universities. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a chevalier in the French Legion of Honor. In March, 2005, he was elected to the Académie française. His books include works on literary criticism, anthropology and Biblical exegesis and are translated into more than twenty languages.