Noam Chomsky

Noam Chomsky

Noam Chomsky was born on December 7, 1928 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.   He received his Phd in linguistics in 1955 from the University of Pennsylvania.  During the years 1951 to 1955, Chomsky was a Junior Fellow of the Harvard University Society of Fellows.  The major theoretical viewpoints of his doctoral dissertation appeared in the monograph Syntactic Structure, 1957.  This formed part of a more extensive work, The Logical Structure of Linguistic Theory, circulated in mimeograph in 1955 and published in 1975.

Chomsky joined the staff of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1955 and in 1961 was appointed full professor.  In 1976 he was appointed Institute Professor in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy.

Chomsky has lectured at many universities here and abroad, and is the recipient of numerous honorary degrees and awards.  He has written and lectured widely on linguistics, philosophy, intellectual history, contemporary issues, international affairs and U.S. foreign policy.  His most recent books are A New Generation Draws the Line; New Horizons in the Study of Language and Mind; Rogue States; 9-11; Understanding Power; On Nature and Language; Pirates and Emperors, Old and New; Chomsky on Democracy and Education; Middle East Illusions; Hegemony or Survival; Imperial Ambitions; Failed States; Perilous Power; Interventions;  Inside Lebanon; and What we Say Goes: Conversations on U.S. Power in a Changing World.