Noam Chomsky

Father of modern linguistics and influential political critic.

He is a linguist and political dissident who rose to national attention in 1967 for his anti-war essay "The Responsibility of Intellectuals"^[1] Chomsky has stated that what Israel does in the Occupied Territories is "much worse than apartheid" in South Africa.^[2][1]

Quick Facts

Birth name: Avram Noam Chomsky
Born: 7 December 1928
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
Occupation: Professor, public intellectual
Years active: 1955–2023
Father: William Chomsky
Thesis year: 1955
Doctoral advisor: Zellig Harris

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

He joined the faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1955 as an assistant professor.^[3] At age 16, in 1945, Chomsky enrolled in a broad course of study at the University of Pennsylvania.^[4] Zellig Harris, whom Chomsky met in 1947 through a political circle, introduced him to theoretical linguistics and persuaded him to choose that as his major.^[4][5] Chomsky and Edward S. Herman worked together to develop the propaganda model for critiquing media, presented in Manufacturing Consent.^[1][6]

In 2002, Chomsky stepped down from active teaching at MIT, but as an emeritus he kept doing research.^[7]

What the cited sources add

A Democracy Now! interview records Chomsky stating that in the Occupied Territories, "what Israel is doing is much worse than apartheid"^[2] The same source identifies Chomsky as a "world-renowned political dissident, linguist and author"^[2] A Philadelphia Inquirer obituary notes that Chomsky's brother David was a cardiologist who made house calls until age 85.^[8] That obituary also states that because both parents were Hebrew teachers, Noam Chomsky was in charge of watching his younger brother.^[8]

A Foreign Policy In Focus review reports that Chomsky gave a lecture at Occupy Boston in October 2011.^[9] The same review says Chomsky argued that economic inequality is the result of a 30-year-long class war.^[9]

References

Wikipedia, "Noam Chomsky" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Noam Chomsky: Israel's Actions in Palestine are "Much Worse Than Apartheid" in South Africa", Democracy Now! (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
"Noam Chomsky: Israel's Actions in Palestine are "Much Worse Than Apartheid" in South Africa", Democracy Now!. facts only, no text reused. democracynow.org
Wikipedia, "Noam Chomsky" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Barsky 1997, p. 58 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Noam Chomsky" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Barsky 1997, p. 58; Sperlich 2006, p. 44–45 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Noam Chomsky" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Sperlich 2006, p. 44–45 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Noam Chomsky" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Sperlich 2006, p. 44–45; Sperlich 2006, p. 44–45; Sperlich 2006, p. 44–45 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Noam Chomsky" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Weidenfeld 2017; Sperlich 2006, p. 44–45; Sperlich 2006, p. 44–45; Sperlich 2006, p. 44–45; Sperlich 2006, p. 44–45 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Russ, "Dr. David Chomsky, a cardiologist who made house calls, dies at 86", The Philadelphia Inquirer, July 12, 2021. facts only, no text reused. inquirer.com
Feffer, "Review: Noam Chomsky's 'Occupy'", Foreign Policy In Focus, April 6, 2012. facts only, no text reused. fpif.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Noam Chomsky (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.