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Birth
Avram Noam Chomsky was born in Philadelphia, PA. Beginning with an editorial he wrote at the age of 10 (McGilvray), Chomsky would go on to be a prolific philosopher, linguist, and political commentator, often referred to as the "father of modern linguistics". -
Syntactic Structures Published
One of Chomsky's early works that set him apart from his peers, Syntactic Structures introduced his theory of "generative grammar" which established inclusionary and exclusionary rules for the English language (Trask 2000). Furthermore, it separated the ideas of grammatical correctness from meaningfulness. -
The Responsibility of Intellectuals
When Chomsky published this editorial lamenting the powerless role that intellectuals held (and, he would argue, still hold), he entered the public's awareness as a social philosopher. It was also a launchpad for his activism. Though his position was first met with criticism, his reputation recovered as academics began to see him more as a theorist than critic (Edgley).
https://www.nybooks.com/articles/1967/02/23/a-special-supplement-the-responsibility-of-intelle/ -
Language and Mind
Originally published in1968, the 1972 expanded version became the core of Chomsky's theory of "linguistic nativism" - that language innate to humans and linguistic abilities are passed down genetically. This controversial theory was seen by some as lazy in that it was a "retreat from scientific investigation" (Trask). -
Discussion of Linguistic Nativism
Chomsky's theory of Linguistic Nativism (first presented in the 1968 Language and Mind) persisted despite its controversy. He can be seen here, in an interview with Al Page of the University of Washington explaining the concept further: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdUbIlwHRkY&ab_channel=UWVideo -
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Political Criticism Continued...
In 2006, Chomsky's political critique of the United States became elevated with the release of his book "Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy" in which he warns of the danger the US poses to its own citizens and those of the global community. Although this was a more outspoken instance of Chomsky's opinions, his position on American foreign policy has been rather consistent since his youth (Brown) and continues to this day with commentary on Afghanistan and Ukraine.