Noam Chomsky

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Lore & Background

Chomsky was born on December 7, 1928, in East Oak Lane, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Ashkenazi Jewish immigrant parents William Chomsky and Elsie Simonofsky. He developed an early interest in anarchism from alternative bookstores in New York City, writing his first article on the 1939 fall of Barcelona and the suppression of the Spanish anarchosyndicalist movement at age 10. He studied at the University of Pennsylvania, where his BA honors thesis 'Morphophonemics of Modern Hebrew' applied Zellig Harris's methods. During his postgraduate work in the Harvard Society of Fellows from 1951 to 1955, Chomsky developed the theory of transformational grammar, for which he earned his doctorate in 1955. That year he began teaching at MIT, and in 1957 emerged as a significant figure in linguistics with his landmark work Syntactic Structures, which played a major role in remodeling the study of language. From 1958 to 1959 Chomsky was a National Science Foundation fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study. He created or co-created the universal grammar theory, the generative grammar theory, the Chomsky hierarchy, and the minimalist program. Chomsky also played a pivotal role in the decline of linguistic behaviorism, and was particularly critical of the work of B. F. Skinner. An outspoken opponent of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, which he saw as an act of American imperialism, in 1967 Chomsky rose to national attention for his anti-war essay 'The Responsibility of Intellectuals'. He was arrested multiple times for his activism and placed on President Richard Nixon's list of political opponents. In collaboration with Edward S. Herman, Chomsky later articulated the propaganda model of media criticism in Manufacturing Consent, and worked to expose the Indonesian occupation of East Timor. His defense of unconditional freedom of speech, including that of Holocaust denial, generated significant controversy in the Faurisson affair of the 1980s. Chomsky's commentary on the Cambodian genocide and the Bosnian genocide also generated controversy. Since retiring from active teaching at MIT, he has continued his vocal political activism, including opposing the 2003 invasion of Iraq and supporting the Occupy movement. An anti-Zionist, Chomsky considers Israel's treatment of Palestinians to be worse than South African–style apartheid, and criticizes U.S. support for Israel.

Reader's Guide

Chomsky is widely recognized as having helped to spark the cognitive revolution in the human sciences, contributing to the development of a new cognitivistic framework for the study of language and the mind. His work in linguistics fundamentally remodeled the study of language, moving it away from behaviorist approaches. His political writings and activism have made him a leading critic of U.S. foreign policy, contemporary capitalism, and mass media. He remains highly influential in anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist movements. His ideas continue to generate debate, particularly regarding free speech and his stances on historical conflicts. His legacy is that of a transformative figure in both academic linguistics and political dissent.

Did You Know?

• Chomsky wrote his first article at age 10 on the 1939 fall of Barcelona and the suppression of the Spanish anarchosyndicalist movement.
• He was placed on President Richard Nixon's list of political opponents.
• Chomsky's BA honors thesis, 'Morphophonemics of Modern Hebrew', applied Zellig Harris's methods to the language.
• He was a National Science Foundation fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study from 1958 to 1959.
• Chomsky's doctorate in 1955 exempted him from compulsory military service.