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Avram Noam Chomsky Born on December 7, 1928
Born to Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants in Philadelphia, Chomsky developed an early interest in anarchism from alternative bookstores in New York City. He studied at the University of Pennsylvania. -
1955 to 1959
Chomsky developed the theory of transformational grammar in 1955. In 1957 emerged as a significant figure in linguistics which played a major role in remodeling the study of language. From 1958 to 1959 He created or co-created the universal grammar theory, the generative grammar theory, the Chomsky hierarchy, and the minimalist program. -
1967- Chomsky as activist
Chomsky rose to national attention for his anti-war essay "The Responsibility of Intellectuals". Becoming associated with the New Left, he was arrested multiple times for his activism and placed on President Richard Nixon's list of political opponents. While expanding his work in linguistics over subsequent decades, he also became involved in the linguistics wars. -
1980's Freedom of Speech
His defense of unconditional freedom of speech, including that of Holocaust denial, generated significant controversy in the Faurisson affair. -
Noam Chomsky in the present and our future
Chomsky has influenced a broad array of academic fields. He is widely recognized as having helped to spark the cognitive revolution in the human sciences, contributing to the development of a new cognitivist framework for the study of language and the mind. Chomsky and his ideas are highly influential in the anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist movements. -
Chomsky Video