{"id":12714,"date":"2026-10-20T16:30:42","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T14:30:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucsia.org\/evenementen\/girard-in-the-white-house\/"},"modified":"2026-10-22T15:24:59","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T13:24:59","slug":"girard-in-the-white-house","status":"publish","type":"event","link":"https:\/\/www.ucsia.org\/en\/events\/girard-in-the-white-house\/","title":{"rendered":"Girard in the White House?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

The Centre Pieter Gillis is organizing this event in collaboration with UCSIA. It will be in Dutch.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFind out more and sign up for free<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Boekcover\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRead more about the book (in Dutch)<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Who was Ren\u00e9 Girard?<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Ren\u00e9 Girard (1923\u20132015) was a French intellectual who spent most of his career working in the United States. He began his career as a historian and literary critic and went on to become one of the most influential cultural thinkers of the twentieth century<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

His key concept is simple and surprising: we often want something simply because others want it. This \u2018mimetic desire\u2019<\/strong> gives rise to rivalry, and groups often resolve the tension that results from it by collectively singling out a single victim: the scapegoat<\/strong>. Girard wanted to bring this mechanism to light, so that we might put an end to it.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Trump and the 'Girardians'<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

In 1995, he was awarded an honorary doctorate in Antwerp. Thirty years later, his name has popped up in an unexpected context: Donald Trump\u2019s inner circle. Tech billionaire Peter Thiel and Vice President JD Vance describe themselves as \u2018Girardians\u2019. But are they really reading him the right way? The new American power brokers are constantly singling out new scapegoats, whilst Girard advocated precisely the opposite.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

In his new book Filosofische fluisteraars, theologische techbro\u2019s, politieke rattenvangers<\/em><\/a> (Philosophical Whisperers, Theological Tech Bros, Political Pied Pipers), Guido Vanheeswijck analyzes how Girard\u2019s thinking is being used and misused for a political-ideological project that runs completely against what Girard himself had in mind. Europe features in this discussion as well.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Join us for the book launch and talk with the author.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRead more and register!<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

About Guido Vanheeswijck<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Guido Vanheeswijck (1955) is a philosopher and professor emeritus at the University of Antwerp and KU Leuven. He has written numerous books and articles, including works on Robin Collingwood, Ren\u00e9 Girard and Charles Taylor. In 1995, he was the supervisor for Girard\u2019s honorary doctorate in Antwerp.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

About the Centre Pieter Gillis <\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

The Pieter Gillis Centre embodies the University of Antwerp\u2019s active pluralism in teaching, research and community engagement. It organises broadening elective modules, coordinates Community Service-Learning and promotes dialogue and social engagement, including through various public lectures and discussion evenings.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

The name refers to the Antwerp humanist and friend of Erasmus and Thomas More, and, like him, the centre takes philosophical questions seriously and approaches them with an open mind.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRead more about the Centre Pieter Gillis<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thirty years after Ren\u00e9 Girard was awarded an honorary doctorate in Antwerp, his thinking has found its way into the White House. Tech billionaire Peter Thiel and Vice-President JD Vance describe themselves as \u2018Girardians\u2019. But are they actually reading Girard as he intended?<\/p>\n

In his new book, Guido Vanheeswijck analyses how Girard\u2019s ideas on mimetic desire and the scapegoat mechanism are being used and misused.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12713,"template":"","topic":[31,34],"class_list":["post-12714","event","type-event","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","topic-religion-and-society","topic-ethics-and-economy"],"yoast_head":"\nGirard in the White House? - UCSIA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Tech billionaire Peter Thiel and Vice-President JD Vance describe themselves as \u2018Girardians\u2019. But are they actually reading Girard properly? Philosopher Guido Vanheeswijck discusses his new book.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ucsia.org\/en\/events\/girard-in-the-white-house\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Girard in the White House? - UCSIA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Tech billionaire Peter Thiel and Vice-President JD Vance describe themselves as \u2018Girardians\u2019. But are they actually reading Girard properly? Philosopher Guido Vanheeswijck discusses his new book.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ucsia.org\/en\/events\/girard-in-the-white-house\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"UCSIA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-10-22T13:24:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ucsia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/26-11-23-Girard-rosie-kerr-unsplash-1-webheader-1-1.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucsia.org\\\/en\\\/events\\\/girard-in-the-white-house\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucsia.org\\\/en\\\/events\\\/girard-in-the-white-house\\\/\",\"name\":\"Girard in the White House? - UCSIA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucsia.org\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucsia.org\\\/en\\\/events\\\/girard-in-the-white-house\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucsia.org\\\/en\\\/events\\\/girard-in-the-white-house\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucsia.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/26-11-23-Girard-rosie-kerr-unsplash-1-webheader-1-1.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-20T14:30:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-22T13:24:59+00:00\",\"description\":\"Tech billionaire Peter Thiel and Vice-President JD Vance describe themselves as \u2018Girardians\u2019. But are they actually reading Girard properly? Philosopher Guido Vanheeswijck discusses his new book.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucsia.org\\\/en\\\/events\\\/girard-in-the-white-house\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucsia.org\\\/en\\\/events\\\/girard-in-the-white-house\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucsia.org\\\/en\\\/events\\\/girard-in-the-white-house\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucsia.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/26-11-23-Girard-rosie-kerr-unsplash-1-webheader-1-1.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucsia.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/26-11-23-Girard-rosie-kerr-unsplash-1-webheader-1-1.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"The White House walled off from the citizens - photo by Rosie Kerr on Unsplash\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucsia.org\\\/en\\\/events\\\/girard-in-the-white-house\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucsia.org\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Events\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucsia.org\\\/en\\\/events\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Girard in the White House?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucsia.org\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucsia.org\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"UCSIA\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucsia.org\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Girard in the White House? - UCSIA","description":"Tech billionaire Peter Thiel and Vice-President JD Vance describe themselves as \u2018Girardians\u2019. But are they actually reading Girard properly? Philosopher Guido Vanheeswijck discusses his new book.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ucsia.org\/en\/events\/girard-in-the-white-house\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Girard in the White House? - UCSIA","og_description":"Tech billionaire Peter Thiel and Vice-President JD Vance describe themselves as \u2018Girardians\u2019. But are they actually reading Girard properly? Philosopher Guido Vanheeswijck discusses his new book.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.ucsia.org\/en\/events\/girard-in-the-white-house\/","og_site_name":"UCSIA","article_modified_time":"2026-10-22T13:24:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":800,"url":"https:\/\/www.ucsia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/26-11-23-Girard-rosie-kerr-unsplash-1-webheader-1-1.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucsia.org\/en\/events\/girard-in-the-white-house\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ucsia.org\/en\/events\/girard-in-the-white-house\/","name":"Girard in the White House? - UCSIA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ucsia.org\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ucsia.org\/en\/events\/girard-in-the-white-house\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ucsia.org\/en\/events\/girard-in-the-white-house\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.ucsia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/26-11-23-Girard-rosie-kerr-unsplash-1-webheader-1-1.webp","datePublished":"2026-10-20T14:30:42+00:00","dateModified":"2026-10-22T13:24:59+00:00","description":"Tech billionaire Peter Thiel and Vice-President JD Vance describe themselves as \u2018Girardians\u2019. But are they actually reading Girard properly? Philosopher Guido Vanheeswijck discusses his new book.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ucsia.org\/en\/events\/girard-in-the-white-house\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ucsia.org\/en\/events\/girard-in-the-white-house\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucsia.org\/en\/events\/girard-in-the-white-house\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.ucsia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/26-11-23-Girard-rosie-kerr-unsplash-1-webheader-1-1.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ucsia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/26-11-23-Girard-rosie-kerr-unsplash-1-webheader-1-1.webp","width":1200,"height":800,"caption":"The White House walled off from the citizens - photo by Rosie Kerr on Unsplash"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucsia.org\/en\/events\/girard-in-the-white-house\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.ucsia.org\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Events","item":"https:\/\/www.ucsia.org\/en\/events\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Girard in the White House?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucsia.org\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ucsia.org\/en\/","name":"UCSIA","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ucsia.org\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ucsia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/event\/12714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ucsia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/event"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ucsia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/event"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucsia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucsia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/event\/12714\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12776,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucsia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/event\/12714\/revisions\/12776"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucsia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ucsia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucsia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=12714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}