《Abraham Lincoln as Authentic Reproduction》.pdf

Abraham Lincoln as Authentic Reproduction: A Critique of Postmodernism Author(s): Edward M. Bruner Reviewed work(s): Source: American Anthropologist, New Series, Vol. 96, No. 2 (Jun., 1994), pp. 397-415 Published by: Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Anthropological Association Stable URL: /stable/681680 . Accessed: 01/10/2012 21:03 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms Conditions of Use, available at . /page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@. . Wiley-Blackwell and American Anthropological Association are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to American Anthropologist. Essay AbrahamLincoln as AuthenticReproduction:A Critiqueof Postmodernism EDWARDM. BRUNER ofAnthropology Department University Illinois,Urbana-Champaign of THATIN HYPERREALITYthe is better than the SAY POSTMODERN WRITERS reproduction original; for example, a museum diorama is more vivid and effective than the scene represented (Eco 1986:8). Jean Baudrillard writes that Americans construct imitations of themselves and that the perfect definition of the simulacra is when the reproduction is more realthan the original (1988:41; see also Eco 1986:18). Meaghan Morriswrites that once we have a simulacra, the true (like the real) begins to be reproduced in the image of the pseudo, which begins to become the true (1988:5). Umberto Eco contends about America that the past must be preser