Richard A. Koenigsberg and Rene Girard Abstract: As I gave my talk in the lecture Hall, Girard was sitting directly in front of me (perhaps ten feet away). My ideas were considered controversial (to others, not to me). There was silence. Upon completion of my talk, the Conference Organizer in the back of the Auditorium tentatively raised her hand. But the audience was nervous. What should they say about what I'd said? People looked to Girard for guidance. Suddenly, he stood up, trembling. I don't remember his exact words, but he gestured affirmation, "Yes, yes." With his approval, the discussion burst forward.

One of the highlights of my conference going career, 1990-2000, was a Plenary Talk I presented at the Colloquium on Violence and Religion (COV&R) at Emory University in Atlanta on June 4, 1999. 

The conference program is here. 

A copy of my paper, "The Sacrificial Meaning of the Holocaust" remains on the COV&R website here.

A commentary on my lecture--by Professor Eric Gans--a prominent member of COV$R appears here (scroll down the page).

The COV&R was founded--in 1990--to develop the theories of Rene Girard.

As I gave my talk in the lecture Hall, Girard was sitting directly in front of me (perhaps ten feet away). My ideas were considered controversial (to others, not to me). There was silence. Upon completion of my presentation, the Conference Organizer in the back of the Auditorium--tentatively raised her hand. But the audience was nervous. What should they say about what I'd said? People looked to Girard for guidance.

Suddenly, he stood up, trembling. I don't remember his exact words, but he gestured affirmation, "Yes, yes." With his approval, the discussion burst forward.