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The article applies René Girard’s mimetic theory to the Warhammer 40,000 universe. The author argues that the setting’s mythological architecture is structured by the logic of the scapegoat mechanism at every level of its cosmology. The analysis considers Girard’s Violence and the Sacred (1972) and Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World (1978) offering …
The Warhammer: 40,000 universe evokes imagery of human remains nearly everywhere one looks. Skulls alone can figuratively adorn ceramite armor as emblems, or literally find themselves impaled atop spikes as trophies, amassed as part of Khorne’s Skull Throne, or used as robotic skull-servos. Human remains are so ubiquitous that it inverts the question of “what …
During Early Modern Europe, amputees, whether they lose a part of them through war or everyday life, made up a non-negligible size of the population and having prosthesis was an important social distinction marker through multiple aspects, such as material, aesthetic or even the way they are made… This social marker is also one that …
This talk explores death, undeath, and afterlife across the Imperium of Man, the galaxy’s civilizations, and the Warp. The Imperium’s citizens lack political enfranchisement; power is predicated on death and sacrifice, which serve as the civilization’s organizing principles. Undeath is a recurring theme in Warhammer, and special attention will be paid to the Necrons, the …
The Unforgiven—the Legio Dark Angels and their successor chapters—hold the secret of Luther’s betrayal of the Lion and Caliban at the heart of their identity as a chapter; even to the point of prosecuting friendly forces for stumbling upon the shameful secret. While this is not unique to the Dark Angels—with the Blood Angels and …
This presentation builds on previous research relating to narrative state transitions and nemein-seeking behaviour by applying this context to the various narratives present within Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000 fictional universe. By reference to Tzvetan Todorov’s theory of the minimum complete plot this presentation identifies and explores how narrative state transitions are managed within the 40k …
Jaques Derrida is quoted as saying, “The end approaches, but the apocalypse is long lived.” The lore of Warhammer 40K is an apocalyptic myth created explicitly in the image of the Roman Empire. But the obvious connections to Imperium Romanum are only part of the picture. WH40K portrays an extension of the cycle of apocalypse …
In his 1984 study Technology and the Character of Contemporary Life—published shortly before the first edition of WH40K—philosopher Albert Borgmann provided an analysis of modern technology centered on the dichotomy between things and devices. For Borgmann, a device is an object that provides a commodity (energy, information, entertainment, etc.) while making the mechanism of that …