Your reading for this week is Jean Baudrillard's essay "Simulacra and Simulations". This is a very important work in a number of fields - philosophy and art history among them - but also very challenging. For this assignment, I would like you to discuss what you think Baudrillard means by the terms "simulacra" and "simulation" - how does he define them, what are the differences between them, why does he think they are important?

You may find it helpful to do a bit of research on Baudrillard and this essay in answering this question - this is not required, but may be helpful if you are finding the concepts difficult. If you choose to use other sources, please be sure to cite any material that you quote or paraphrase and to include a works cited page. One of the better online resources for MLA style is at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/