Read complete books and articles on: Noam Chomsky

Chomsky, Noam - nōm chŏmˈskē, 1928–, educator and linguist, b. Philadelphia. Chomsky, who has taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology since 1955, developed a theory of transformational (sometimes called generative or transformational-generative) grammar that revolutionized the scientific study of language. He first set out his abstract analysis of language in his doctoral dissertation (1955) and Syntactic Structures (1957). Instead of starting with minimal sounds, as the structural linguists had done, Chomsky began with the rudimentary or primitive sentence; from this base he developed his argument that innumerable syntactic combinations can be generated by means of a complex series of rules.

According to transformational grammar, every intelligible sentence conforms not only to grammatical rules peculiar to its particular language, but also to "deep structures," a universal grammar underlying all languages and corresponding to an innate capacity of the human brain. Chomsky and other linguists who built on his work formulated transformational rules, which transform a sentence with a given grammatical structure (e.g., "John saw Mary") into a sentence with a different grammatical structure but the same essential meaning ("Mary was seen by John"). Transformational linguistics has been influential in psycholinguistics, particularly in the study of language acquisition by children. In the 1990s Chomsky formulated a "Minimalist Program" in an attempt to simplify the symbolic representations of the language facility.

Chomsky is a prolific author whose principal linguistic works after Syntactic Structures include Current Issues in Linguistic Theory (1964), The Sound Pattern of English (with Morris Halle, 1968), Language and Mind (1972), Studies on Semantics in Generative Grammar (1972), and Knowledge of Language (1986). In addition, he has wide-ranging political interests. He was an early and outspoken critic of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War and has written extensively on many political issues from a generally left-wing point of view. Among his political writings are American Power and the New Mandarins (1969), Peace in the Middle East? (1974), Manufacturing Consent (with E. S. Herman, 1988), Profit over People (1998), Rogue States (2000), and Hegemony or Survival (2003). Chomsky's controversial bestseller 9-11 (2002) is an analysis of the World Trade Center attack that, while denouncing the atrocity of the event, traces its origins to the actions and power of the United States, which he calls "a leading terrorist state."

See biography by R. F. Barsky (1997); interviews with D. Barsamian (1992, 1994, 1996, and 2001); studies by F. D'Agostino (1985), C. P. Otero (1988 and 1998), R. Salkie (1990), M. Achbar, ed. (1994), M. Rai (1995), V. J. Cook (1996), P. Wilkin (1997), J. McGilvray (1999), N. V. Smith (1999), A. Edgley (2000), and H. Lasnik (2000); Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media (film by P. Wintonick and M. Achbar, 1992) and Power and Terror: Noam Chomsky in Our Times (documentary film dir. by J. Junkerman, 2002).

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16 of the Best Books and Articles on: Noam Chomsky

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1.

The Social and Political Thought of Noam Chomsky » Read Now
by Alison Edgley. 205 pgs.

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One of few serious academic studies of Chomsky's political writing, this volume addresses many key issues in political theory through an engagement with Chomsky's ideas. Subjects covered include equality and freedom, politics and the media, and nationalism and state capitalism. The Social and...
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One of few serious academic studies of Chomsky's political writing, this volume addresses many key issues in political theory through an engagement with Chomsky's ideas. Subjects covered include equality and freedom, politics and the media, and nationalism and state capitalism. The Social and Political Thought of Noam Chomsky is an essential resource for scholars of social and political thought.
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2.

Knowledge of Language: Its Nature, Origin, and Use » Read Now
by Noam Chomsky. 308 pgs.

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...Its Nature, Origin, and Use Noam Chomsky CONVERGENCE A Series Founded...Cataloging-in-Publication Data Chomsky, Noam. Knowledge of language. Convergence...paper Copyright...
3.

Rethinking Camelot: JFK, the Vietnam War, and U.S. Political Culture » Read Now
by Noam Chomsky. 174 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

This book is a thorough analysis of John F. Kennedy's role in the U.S. invasion of Vietnam and a probing reflection of the elite political culture that allowed and encouraged the Cold War.
4.

The Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel, and the Palestinians » Read Now
by Noam Chomsky. 578 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

...Fateful Triangle Other books by Noam Chomsky Powers and Prospects Reflections...Palestinians Updated Edition Noam Chomsky South End Press Cambridge, Massachusetts Copyright...
5.

Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies » Read Now
by Noam Chomsky. 424 pgs.

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...Control in Democratic Societies Noam Chomsky South End Press Boston, MA Copyright 1989 by Noam Chomsky Copyrights are required for book...Cataloging-in-Publication Data...
6.

Year 501: The Conquest Continues » Read Now
by Noam Chomsky. 332 pgs.

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...THE CONQUEST CONTINUES Noam Chomsky South End Press Boston Copyright 1993 by Noam Chomsky Any properly footnoted quotation...Cataloging-in-Publication Data Chomsky, Noam...
7.

September 11 » Read Now
by Noam Chomsky. 114 pgs.

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Fearless and outspoken as always, Noam Chomsky uses his impeccable knowledge of United States foreign policy in the Middle East and South Asia to provide a wide ranging analysis of the terrorist attacks of September 11.
8.

Rogue States: The Rule of Force in World Affairs » Read Now
by Noam Chomsky. 258 pgs.

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Described in a 1998 profile in the New York Times as "an exploder of received truths", Noam Chomsky is the world's most informed, controversial, and articulate opponent of political hypocrisy and abuse of power. Rogue States is the latest result of his tireless efforts to measure the world's...
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Described in a 1998 profile in the New York Times as "an exploder of received truths", Noam Chomsky is the world's most informed, controversial, and articulate opponent of political hypocrisy and abuse of power. Rogue States is the latest result of his tireless efforts to measure the world's superpowers by their own professed standards and to hold them responsible for the indefensible actions they commit in the name of democracy and human rights.
The United States and its allies come in for particular scrutiny for their numerous recent violations of the very international laws they claim to uphold, making them the real "rogue states" in the world today. In analyzing the recent war over Kosovo with Yugoslavia, Chomsky challenges the legal and humanitarian arguments in favor of NATO's aggression, instead calling attention to the West's failure to support democratic movements in the region. Chomsky also turns his penetrating gaze toward U.S. involvement in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Central America, relying on both historical context and recently released government documents to trace the paths of self-interest and domination that fueled these violent regional conflicts. Throughout, Chomsky reveals the United States' increasingly open dismissal of the United Nations and international legal precedent in justifying its motives and actions. As his analysis of U.S. statecraft reveals, the rule of law has been reduced to a mere nuisance. Characteristically incisive, provocative, and rousing, Chomsky leaves no bomb-shell unexploded in his evaluation of the West's shameless reliance on the rule of force today.
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9.

The Culture of Terrorism » Read Now
by Noam Chomsky. 269 pgs.

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...The Culture of Terrorism Noam Chomsky The Culture of Terrorism Noam Chomsky South End Press Boston, MA Copyright 1988 by Noam Chomsky Copyrights are required for book...
10.

Powers and Prospects: Reflections on Human Nature and the Social Order » Read Now
by Noam Chomsky. 260 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Entire Library

In this wide-ranging intellectual tour de force, Noam Chomsky brings together his thoughts on topics ranging from language and human nature to the Israeli-PLO accords and the place of East Timor in the New World Order. This is the first collection of his essays in recent years to address questions...
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In this wide-ranging intellectual tour de force, Noam Chomsky brings together his thoughts on topics ranging from language and human nature to the Israeli-PLO accords and the place of East Timor in the New World Order. This is the first collection of his essays in recent years to address questions of philosophy, ethics, and foreign policy, and includes Chomsky's first published remarks specifically on his political goals and visions. A must read for anyone interested in Chomsky's work.
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11.

The Washington Connection and Third World Fascism » Read Now
by Noam Chomsky, Edward S. Herman. 441 pgs.

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...Washington Connection and. Third World Fascism Noam Chomsky and Edward S. Herman SOUTH END PRESS BOSTON Copyright 1979 by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky Any properly...
12.

Turning the Tide: U.S. Intervention in Central America and the Struggle for Peace » Read Now
by Noam Chomsky. 298 pgs.

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...AND THE STRUGGLE FOR PEACE NOAM CHOMSKY South End Press Boston, Massachusetts Copyright 1985 Noam Chomsky Any properly footnoted quotation...Cataloguing-in-Publication Data...
13.

Power in the Global Arena, in New Left Review » Read Now
by Noam Chomsky. 25 pgs.

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...Noam Chomsky Power in the Global Arena I would...For more extensive quotations, see Noam Chomsky, Necessary Illusions , London 1989...Princeton 1991 , p. 365. 13 See Noam...
14.

What's Within? Nativism Reconsidered ("Chomskyan Nativism: The Core Claims" begins on p. 151) » Read Now
by Fiona Cowie. 354 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Psychology, Entire Library

This powerfully iconoclastic book reconsiders the influential nativist position toward the mind. Nativists assert that some concepts, beliefs, or capacities are innate or inborn: "native" to the mind rather than acquired. Fiona Cowie argues that this view is mistaken, demonstrating that nativism is...
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This powerfully iconoclastic book reconsiders the influential nativist position toward the mind. Nativists assert that some concepts, beliefs, or capacities are innate or inborn: "native" to the mind rather than acquired. Fiona Cowie argues that this view is mistaken, demonstrating that nativism is an unstable amalgam of two quite different--and probably inconsistent--theses about the mind. Unlike empiricists, who postulate domain-neutral learning strategies, nativists insist that some learning tasks require special kinds of skills, and that these skills are hard-wired into our brains at birth. This "faculties hypothesis" finds its modern expression in the views of Noam Chomsky. Cowie, marshaling recent empirical evidence from developmental psychology, psycholinguistics, computer science, and linguistics, provides a crisp and timely critique of Chomsky's nativism and defends in its place a moderately nativist approach to language acquisition. Also in contrast to empiricists, who view the mind as simply another natural phenomenon susceptible of scientific explanation, nativists suspect that the mental is inelectably mysterious. Cowie addresses this second strand in nativist thought, taking on the view articulated by Jerry Fodor and other nativists that learning, particularly concept acquisition, is a fundamentally inexplicable process. Cowie challenges this explanatory pessimism, and argues convincingly that concept acquisition is psychologically explicable. What's Within? is a clear and provocative achievement in the study of the human mind.
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15.

Talking about a Revolution: Interviews with Michael Albert, Noam Chomsky, Barbara Ehrenreich, Bell Hooks, Peter Kwong, Winona Laduke, Manning Marable, Urvashi Vaid, and Howard Zinn » Read Now
by South End Press Collective. 132 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

Keynote: A lively collection of short, original interviews with leading thinkers
On its twentieth anniversary, the South End Press collective has gathered the left's most prominent intellectuals for a wide-ranging discussion of the past twenty years and the next twenty years of progressive social...
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Keynote: A lively collection of short, original interviews with leading thinkers
On its twentieth anniversary, the South End Press collective has gathered the left's most prominent intellectuals for a wide-ranging discussion of the past twenty years and the next twenty years of progressive social movements in the United States.
In 7 accessible, personal interviews, Zinn et al let readers know their most deeply held beliefs and hopes for the progressive movements they have led and nurtured over the last 2 decades.
Every one who would like to see a revitalized, more effective movement for social change in the United States whether feminist, anti-racist, populist, anarchist, socialist, union activist, or unsure will want to read Talking About a Revolution.
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16.

Fifty Key Contemporary Thinkers: From Structuralism to Postmodernity ("Noam Chomsky" begins on p. 49) » Read Now
by John Lechte. 252 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Entire Library

Fifty Key Contemporary Thinkers surveys the most important figures who have influenced post-war thought. The reader is guided through structuralism, semiotics, post-Marxism and Annales history, on to modernity and postmodernity. With its comprehensive biographical and bibliographical information...
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Fifty Key Contemporary Thinkers surveys the most important figures who have influenced post-war thought. The reader is guided through structuralism, semiotics, post-Marxism and Annales history, on to modernity and postmodernity. With its comprehensive biographical and bibliographical information, this book provides a vital reference work of the last fifty years.
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