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Social Criticism
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A. J. Cronin
Archibald Joseph Cronin (19 July 1896–6 January 1981) was a Scottish physician and novelist. His best-known works are ''Hatter's Castle, The Stars Look Down, The Citadel, The Keys of the Kingdom and The Green Years, all of which were adapted to film. He also created the Dr. Finlay character, the hero of a series of stories that served as the basis for the popular BBC television and radio series entitled Dr. Finlay's Casebook''.
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Aimé Césaire
Aimé Fernand David Césaire (26 June 1913 – 17 April 2008) was an African-Martinican francophone poet, author and politician. He was "one of the founders of the négritude movement in Francophone literature".
http://wn.com/Aimé_Césaire -
Aldous Huxley
Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. He spent the later part of his life in the United States, living in Los Angeles from 1937 until his death in 1963. Best known for his novels including Brave New World and a wide-ranging output of essays, Huxley also edited the magazine Oxford Poetry, and published short stories, poetry, travel writing, and film stories and scripts.
http://wn.com/Aldous_Huxley -
Alexander Bard
Alexander Bengt Magnus Bard (born 17 March 1961) is a Swedish artist, music producer and writer.
http://wn.com/Alexander_Bard -
Arthur Morrison
Arthur George Morrison (1 November 1863 London - 4 December 1945) was an English author and journalist known for his realistic novels about London's East End and for his detective stories.
http://wn.com/Arthur_Morrison -
Betty Friedan
Betty Friedan (February 4, 1921 - February 4, 2006) was an American writer, activist and feminist.
http://wn.com/Betty_Friedan -
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was the most popular British novelist of the Victorian era, and he remains popular, responsible for some of English literature's most iconic characters.
http://wn.com/Charles_Dickens -
Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke PC (12 January [NS] 1729 9 July 1797) was an Irish statesman, author, orator, political theorist, and philosopher who, after relocating to England, served for many years in the House of Commons of Great Britain as a member of the Whig party. He is mainly remembered for his support of the cause of the American Revolutionaries, and for his later opposition to the French Revolution. The latter led to his becoming the leading figure within the conservative faction of the Whig party, which he dubbed the "Old Whigs", in opposition to the pro-French-Revolution "New Whigs," led by Charles James Fox. Burke was praised by both conservatives and liberals in the nineteenth century and since the twentieth century he has generally been viewed as the philosophical founder of modern conservatism, as well as a representative of classical liberalism.
http://wn.com/Edmund_Burke -
Felix Guattari
http://wn.com/Felix_Guattari -
Frantz Fanon
Frantz Omar Fanon (July 20, 1925 – December 6, 1961) was a French psychiatrist, philosopher, revolutionary, and author, born in Martinique. His work remains influential in the fields of post-colonial studies and critical theory. Fanon is known as a Marxist thinker on the issue of decolonization and the psychopathology of colonization. His works have incited and inspired anti-colonial liberation movements for more than four decades.
http://wn.com/Frantz_Fanon -
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was a British author and journalist. His work is marked by keen intelligence and wit, a profound awareness of social injustice, an intense, revolutionary opposition to totalitarianism, a passion for clarity in language and a belief in democratic socialism.
http://wn.com/George_Orwell -
Gilbert Rist
Gilbert Rist was a professor at the ''institut universitaire d'études du développement'' (graduate institute of development studies) in Geneva. He is best known for his ground-breaking study of the concept and practice of development.
http://wn.com/Gilbert_Rist -
Gilles Deleuze
Gilles Deleuze (), (18 January 1925 – 4 November 1995) was a French philosopher of the late 20th century. From the early 1960s until his death, Deleuze wrote many influential works on philosophy, literature, film, and fine art. His most popular books were the two volumes of Capitalism and Schizophrenia: Anti-Oedipus (1972) and A Thousand Plateaus (1980), both co-written with Félix Guattari.
http://wn.com/Gilles_Deleuze -
Guy Debord
Guy Ernest Debord (December 28, 1931 - November 30, 1994) was a French Marxist theorist, writer, filmmaker, hypergraphist and founding member of the groups Lettrist International and Situationist International (SI). He was also briefly a member of Socialisme ou Barbarie.
http://wn.com/Guy_Debord -
Guy Hocquenghem
Guy Hocquenghem (3 December 1946 – 28 August 1988) was a French writer and queer theorist.
http://wn.com/Guy_Hocquenghem -
Harry Braverman
Harry Braverman (9 December 1920 – 2 August 1976) was an American Socialist, economist and political writer. He sometimes used the pseudonym Harry Frankel.
http://wn.com/Harry_Braverman -
Helen Hunt Jackson
Helen Maria Hunt Jackson (October 18, 1830 – August 12, 1885) was an American writer who became an activist to improve United States government treatment of Native Americans. She wrote newspaper articles and directly to government officials. In 1882, she published A Century of Dishonor, about the adverse effects of government actions, and sent a copy to each member of the US Congress.
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Henry Miller
Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist and painter. He was known for breaking with existing literary forms and developing a new sort of 'novel' that is a mixture of novel, autobiography, social criticism, philosophical reflection, surrealist free association, and mysticism, one that is distinctly always about and expressive of the real-life Henry Miller and yet is also fictional. His most characteristic works of this kind are Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn and Black Spring. He also wrote travel memoirs and essays of literary criticism and analysis.
http://wn.com/Henry_Miller -
Herbert Marcuse
Herbert Marcuse () (July 19, 1898 – July 29, 1979) was a German philosopher, sociologist, and political theorist, associated with the Frankfurt School of critical theory. Celebrated as the "Father of the New Left,Douglas Kellner. " his best known works are Eros and Civilization, One-Dimensional Man and The Aesthetic Dimension.
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Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn (August 24, 1922 – January 27, 2010) was an American historian, author, left-wing activist, playwright, intellectual and Professor of Political Science at Boston University from 1964 to 1988. He wrote more than 20 books, which included his best-selling and influential ''A People's History of the United States. Zinn wrote extensively about the civil rights, civil liberties and anti-war movements. His memoir, You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train'', was also the title of a 2004 documentary about Zinn's life and work.
http://wn.com/Howard_Zinn -
Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant () (22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was an 18th-century German philosopher from the Prussian city of Königsberg. Kant was the last influential philosopher of modern Europe in the classic sequence of the theory of knowledge during the Enlightenment beginning with thinkers John Locke, George Berkeley, and David Hume.
http://wn.com/Immanuel_Kant -
Jack London
Jack London (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916) was an American author, journalist, and social activist. He was a pioneer in the then-burgeoning world of commercial magazine fiction and was one of the first fiction writers to obtain worldwide celebrity and a large fortune from his fiction alone. He is best remembered as the author of Call of the Wild, set in the Yukon Gold Rush, as well as the short stories "To Build a Fire", "An Odyssey of the North", and "Love of Life". He also wrote of the South Pacific in such stories as "The Pearls of Parlay" and "The Heathen", and The Sea Wolf, of the San Francisco Bay area.
http://wn.com/Jack_London -
Jan Söderqvist
http://wn.com/Jan_Söderqvist -
Jane Jacobs
Jane Jacobs, OC, O.Ont (May 4, 1916 – April 25, 2006) was an American-born Canadian writer and activist with primary interest in communities and urban planning and decay. She is best known for The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1961), a powerful critique of the urban renewal policies of the 1950s in the United States. The book has been credited with reaching beyond planning issues to influence the spirit of the times.
http://wn.com/Jane_Jacobs -
John Ruskin
John Ruskin (8 February 1819 – 20 January 1900) was an English art critic and social thinker, also remembered as a poet and artist. His essays on art and architecture were extremely influential in the Victorian and Edwardian eras.
http://wn.com/John_Ruskin -
Joseph Weizenbaum
Joseph Weizenbaum (Berlin, January 8, 1923 – March 5, 2008) was a German-American author and professor emeritus of computer science at MIT.
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Judith Butler
Judith Butler (born 24 February 1956) is an American post-structuralist philosopher, who has contributed to the fields of feminism, queer theory, political philosophy, and ethics. She is currently the Maxine Elliott professor in the Rhetoric and Comparative Literature departments at the University of California, Berkeley.
http://wn.com/Judith_Butler -
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx (May 5, 1818 – March 14, 1883) was a German philosopher, political economist, historian, political theorist, sociologist, communist, and revolutionary, whose ideas played a significant role in the development of modern communism and socialism. Marx summarized his approach in the first line of chapter one of The Communist Manifesto, published in 1848: "The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles."
http://wn.com/Karl_Marx -
Karl Popper
Karl Raimund Popper, CH, FRS, FBA (28 July 1902 – 17 September 1994) was an Austro-British philosopher and a professor at the London School of Economics. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest philosophers of science of the 20th century; he also wrote extensively on social and political philosophy.
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Mary Wollstonecraft
Mary Wollstonecraft (; 27 April 1759 – 10 September 1797) was an eighteenth-century British writer, philosopher, and advocate of women's rights. During her brief career, she wrote novels, treatises, a travel narrative, a history of the French Revolution, a conduct book, and a children's book. Wollstonecraft is best known for A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), in which she argues that women are not naturally inferior to men, but appear to be only because they lack education. She suggests that both men and women should be treated as rational beings and imagines a social order founded on reason.
http://wn.com/Mary_Wollstonecraft -
Max Horkheimer
Max Horkheimer (February 14, 1895 – July 7, 1973) was a German philosopher-sociologist, famous for his work in critical theory as a member of the 'Frankfurt School' of social research. His most important works include The Eclipse of Reason (1947) and, in collaboration with Theodor Adorno, The Dialectic of Enlightenment (1947). Through the Frankfurt School, Horkheimer planned, supported and made other significant works possible."Horkheimer, Max" Dictionary of the Social Sciences. Craig Calhoun, ed. Oxford University Press 2002. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. College of the Holy Cross. 14 October 2009
http://wn.com/Max_Horkheimer -
Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault (), born Paul-Michel Foucault (15 October 1926 – 25 June 1984), was a French philosopher, sociologist, and historian. He held a chair at the prestigious Collège de France with the title "History of Systems of Thought," and also taught at the University at Buffalo and the University of California, Berkeley.
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Mikhail Bakunin
Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin ( - 1 July 1876) (; ) was a well-known Russian revolutionary and theorist of collectivist anarchism.
http://wn.com/Mikhail_Bakunin -
Noam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky ( or ; born December 7, 1928) is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and political activist. He is an Institute Professor and professor emeritus of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Chomsky is well known in the academic and scientific community as one of the fathers of modern linguistics, and a major figure of analytic philosophy. Since the 1960s, he has become known more widely as a political dissident and an anarchist, referring to himself as a libertarian socialist. Chomsky is the author of more than 100 books and has received worldwide attention for his views, despite being typically absent from the mainstream media.
http://wn.com/Noam_Chomsky -
Pierre Bourdieu
Pierre Bourdieu (1 August 1930 – 23 January 2002) was a French sociologist, anthropologist, and philosopher.
http://wn.com/Pierre_Bourdieu -
Rachel Carson
Rachel Louise Carson (May 27, 1907 – April 14, 1964) was an American marine biologist and nature writer whose writings are credited with advancing the global environmental movement.
http://wn.com/Rachel_Carson -
Raewyn Connell
Raewyn Connell (1944-), is the most influential contemporary Australian sociologist. (According to a poll of [http://www.tasa.org.au/ Sociological Association] members, 4 of her books were listed among the 10 "most influential".) She is currently University Professor at the University of Sydney.
http://wn.com/Raewyn_Connell -
Ramona
Ramona is an 1884 American novel written by Helen Hunt Jackson. It is the story of a part-Scottish and part-Native American orphan girl in Southern California, who suffers racial discrimination and hardship. Originally serialized in the Christian Union on a weekly basis, the novel became immensely popular. It has had more than 300 printings, been made into four film versions, and has been performed as an outdoor play annually since 1923. The novel's impact on the culture and image of Southern California was enormous. Its sentimental portrayal of Mexican colonial life gave the region a unique cultural identity and its publication coincided with the arrival of railroad lines to the region, bringing in countless tourists who wanted to see for themselves the locations in the novel.
http://wn.com/Ramona -
Ray Bradbury
Raymond Douglas "Ray" Bradbury (born August 22, 1920) is an American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 (1953) and for the science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles (1950) and The Illustrated Man (1951), Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th and 21st century American writers of speculative fiction. Many of Bradbury's works have been adapted into television shows or films.
http://wn.com/Ray_Bradbury -
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud (), born Sigismund Schlomo Freud (6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939), was an Austrian neurologist who founded the psychoanalytic school of psychiatry. Freud is best known for his theories of the unconscious mind and the defense mechanism of repression, and for creating the clinical practice of psychoanalysis for treating psychopathology through dialogue between a patient, technically referred to as an "analysand", and a psychoanalyst. Freud is also renowned for his redefinition of sexual desire as the primary motivational energy of human life, as well as for his therapeutic techniques, including the use of free association, his theory of transference in the therapeutic relationship, and the interpretation of dreams as sources of insight into unconscious desires. He was an early neurological researcher into cerebral palsy, and a prolific essayist, drawing on psychoanalysis to contribute to the history, interpretation and critique of culture.
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Simone de Beauvoir
: "La Beauvoir" redirects here; also see: Beauvoir (disambiguation).
http://wn.com/Simone_de_Beauvoir -
Theodor W. Adorno
Theodor W. Adorno (September 11, 1903 – August 6, 1969) was a German-born international sociologist, philosopher, and musicologist. He was a member of the Frankfurt School of social theory along with Max Horkheimer, Walter Benjamin, Herbert Marcuse, Jürgen Habermas, and others. He was also the Music Director of the Radio Project from 1937 to 1941, in the U.S.
http://wn.com/Theodor_W_Adorno -
Thomas Jefferson
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http://wn.com/Thomas_Jefferson -
Upton Sinclair
Upton Sinclair, Jr. (September 20, 1878 – November 25, 1968), was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American author who wrote over 90 books in many genres. He achieved popularity in the first half of the 20th century, acquiring particular fame for his 1906 muckraking novel The Jungle. It exposed conditions in the U.S. meat packing industry, causing a public uproar that contributed in part to the passage a few months later of the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act.
http://wn.com/Upton_Sinclair -
Virginia Woolf
Adeline Virginia Woolf (; 25 January 1882 – 28 March 1941) was an English author, essayist, publisher, and writer of short stories, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century.
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W. E. B. DuBois
http://wn.com/W_E_B_DuBois -
Walter Benjamin
Walter Bendix Schönflies Benjamin (15 July 1892 – 27 September 1940) was a German-Jewish intellectual (philosopher, sociologist, literary critic, translator, essayist) occasionally associated with the Frankfurt School of critical theory. His sociologic and cultural critical thought, combining historical materialism, German idealism, and Jewish mysticism, proved a novel contribution to aesthetic theory and to Western Marxism. As a literary critic, his most famous essays are about Charles Baudelaire (1821–67), coiner of the term modernism; as a translator he produced the Tableaux Parisiens edition of Les Fleurs du mal (1857), by Baudelaire, and À la recherche du temps perdu (1913–27), by Marcel Proust (1871–1922).
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William Morris
William Morris (24 March 18343 October 1896) was an English textile designer, artist, writer, and socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement. Morris wrote and published poetry, fiction, and translations of ancient and medieval texts throughout his life. His best-known works include The Defence of Guenevere and Other Poems (1858), The Earthly Paradise (1868–1870), A Dream of John Ball and the utopian News from Nowhere. He was an important figure in the emergence of socialism in Britain, founding the Socialist League in 1884, but breaking with the movement over goals and methods by the end of that decade. He devoted much of the rest of his life to the Kelmscott Press, which he founded in 1891. The 1896 Kelmscott edition of the Works of Geoffrey Chaucer is considered a masterpiece of book design.
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Étienne de La Boétie
Étienne de La Boétie (common French pronunciation: ; pronounced or in local Périgord dialect; November 1, 1530 – August 18, 1563) was a French judge, writer, political philosopher and friend of Montaigne, author of the Discourse on Voluntary Servitude (Discours de la servitude volontaire).
http://wn.com/Étienne_de_La_Boétie
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Morocco
Morocco (, al-Maġrib; Berber: Amerruk / Murakuc; French: Maroc), officially the Kingdom of Morocco (المملكة المغربية, al-Mamlakah al-Maġribiyya), is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of nearly 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², including the disputed Western Sahara which is mainly under Moroccan administration. Morocco has a coast on the Atlantic Ocean that reaches past the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered by Spain to the north (a water border through the Strait and land borders with three small Spanish-controlled exclaves, Ceuta, Melilla, and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera), Algeria to the east, and Mauritania to the south.
http://wn.com/Morocco -
United States
The United States of America (also referred to as the United States, the U.S., the USA, or America) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Caribbean and Pacific.
http://wn.com/United_States
- A Tale of Two Cities
- A. J. Cronin
- Ableism
- Adultism
- African Cinema
- Ageism
- Aimé Césaire
- Aldous Huxley
- Alexander Bard
- Anarchism
- Animal Farm
- Anti-Oedipus
- Anticolonialism
- Antiracism
- Antisemitism
- antislavery movement
- Arthur Morrison
- Betty Friedan
- Biopolitics
- Bolshevik Revolution
- Brave New World
- Brenda's Got a Baby
- Charles Dickens
- children's books
- class struggle
- Colonialism
- council communism
- Critical pedagogy
- critical rationalism
- Critical theory
- cultural studies
- Das Kapital
- discourse
- dystopia
- Edmund Burke
- Eurocentrism
- experience
- exploitation
- Fahrenheit 451
- Felix Guattari
- Feminism
- Frankfurt School
- Frantz Fanon
- Gender Trouble
- Georg Lukács
- George Orwell
- Giannina Braschi
- Gilbert Rist
- Gilles Deleuze
- Guy Debord
- Guy Hocquenghem
- Harry Braverman
- Heavy metal music
- Helen Hunt Jackson
- Henry Miller
- Herbert Marcuse
- Heterosexism
- Homophobia
- Homosexuality
- Howard Zinn
- Ideology
- Immanuel Kant
- Imperialism
- Jack London
- Jan Söderqvist
- Jane Jacobs
- John Ruskin
- Joseph Weizenbaum
- Judith Butler
- Karl Marx
- Karl Popper
- Khen Lampert
- Labour movement
- Machiavellian
- Mary Wollstonecraft
- Max Horkheimer
- Megadeth
- Metallica
- Michel Foucault
- Mikhail Bakunin
- Militarism
- minority group
- Nationalism
- Neocolonialism
- New social movements
- News from Nowhere
- Nineteen Eighty-Four
- Noam Chomsky
- novel
- One-Dimensional Man
- Pamphlet
- Pierre Bourdieu
- Political Cinema
- political economy
- Political theatre
- positivism dispute
- Post-Colonialism
- Post-structuralism
- Pretty Vacant
- Profit over people
- psychoanalysis
- Punk rock
- Rachel Carson
- Racism
- Raewyn Connell
- Ramona
- Rap music
- Ray Bradbury
- reform
- revolution
- Russian history
- Satire
- Sex Pistols
- Sexism
- Sigmund Freud
- Silent Spring
- Simon Head
- Simone de Beauvoir
- social movement
- social philosophy
- social psychology
- social sciences
- social structure
- sociology
- Surrealism
- The Citadel (novel)
- The Iron Heel
- The Jungle
- The Second Sex
- The Stars Look Down
- Theodor W. Adorno
- Thomas Jefferson
- Three Guineas
- Tupac
- Unto This Last
- Upton Sinclair
- Virginia Woolf
- W. E. B. DuBois
- Walter Benjamin
- Whiteness studies
- William Morris
- Women's Cinema
- Women's movement
- Women's studies
- Étienne de La Boétie
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Prophecy and Social Criticism
In this three part series, Professor Michael Walzer discusses Biblical politics through the lens of modern political theory. To see more videos from the University of Washington visit uwtv.org.
http://wn.com/Prophecy_and_Social_Criticism
Jacob Fræer - Social Criticism
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:49
- Published: 13 Apr 2011
- Uploaded: 04 Dec 2011
- Author: jacobfraeer
Made April 12th 2011 (Copyright: Jacob Fræer) - Full description for lyrics. One step closer, and two steps back it's really hard just keeping track the earth is shaking what are you gonna do just stand and look because they're pointing at you we are devoted but you can't see what is wrong right in front of me civil wars won't do any good a massacre and a sea full of blood it's funny it is so hard to find peace when you fight next to me i hope everything's gonna be all right cause somebody told me it would be you educate us and make us blind but you don't know what we hide behind breaking the law is not ideal but in the end love will always heal it's funny it is so hard to find peace when you fight next to me i hope everything's gonna be all right cause somebody told me it would be
http://wn.com/Jacob_Fræer__Social_Criticism
Cultural Theory: Frankfurt School Critical Theory
College course lecture on Frankfurt School critiques of mass culture.
http://wn.com/Cultural_Theory_Frankfurt_School_Critical_Theory
Japanese Internment: This is the Enemy
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:47
- Published: 23 Mar 2007
- Uploaded: 05 Feb 2012
- Author: gretchenbertram
Download at: ehistory.osu.edu for a larger version. A video about Japanese internment during World War II. Our democracy was forged in a revolution, fought by revolutionaries who saw injustice & wanted to improve their society. I believe that if our democracy is to remain viable, social criticism must remain an essential part of our nation's education. I strongly criticize the way our nation treated its Japanese-American citizens during the Second World War, & the way I make my point is to use the most palpable evidence of the innocence of those citizens they interned. I show pictures of children in my video as a way to contrast the intent of the policy of internment versus the effect of the internment. Whatever any other governments or people did during that horrible war, what we did to our own citizens was wrong. As a citizen, educator, & most importantly, mother living within the United States, I see it as my duty to critique, criticize, & attempt to improve the direction of American society. This video is one way I attempt to reach that end. In my classroom, my goal is to empower students by giving them the knowledge of how their society works, & through this, how to alter its course. I endeavor to teach students about the interconnectedness of the world, that they have a place in it, & that they have the power to direct it. Without knowledge of their position in our democratic society as citizens, students may never realize their ability to direct society. Without <b>...</b>
http://wn.com/Japanese_Internment_This_is_the_Enemy
The Postal Service - This Place Is a Prison - Cold Depression - By Mirko Kühnl 2010
This is a Motion Picture Music Video created for my A-level at school using programs as Adobe After Effects,Adobe Photoshop and Sony Vegas. Additional Software has also been used, such as Twitch, Real Clouds and Action Essentials 2 all created by VideoCopilot. The real shots are filmed with the use of a Toshiba Cameo P10 Camera. The images shown in this video are all from the internet either found via google or www.sxc.hu. The content of the video features social criticism and intends to wake up people from their shallow entity via the use of Motion Graphics. The Music video also tries to illustrate the lyrics of the song and holds on tightly to them most of the time. I hope you like it. Mirko Kühnl 2010 ___________________________ Songname: The Postal Service - This Place Is A Prison ___________________________ All rights reserved by their respective owners.
http://wn.com/The_Postal_Service__This_Place_Is_a_Prison__Cold_Depression__By_Mirko_Kühnl_2010
Manufactured Consent -Intellectual Self-Defense 1/17
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:53
- Published: 11 Feb 2009
- Uploaded: 05 Feb 2012
- Author: RazeTheNWO
A film about the noted American linguist/political dissident and his warning about corporate media's role in modern propaganda. media propaganda chomsky analysis east timor government linguist political debate genocide media coverage conspiracy journalism mind control corruption new york times corporation interview social criticism massachusetts institute of technology archive footage newspaper editor anti
http://wn.com/Manufactured_Consent_-Intellectual_Self-Defense_1/17
Bloomberg News: Facebook trying to attack "Google Plus Social Circles"
youtu.be Make Money From YouTube. A new Platform with an Old Strategy google-plus-network.blogspot.com Blogger Chris Soghoian talks about Facebook Inc.'s hiring of a public-relations firm to pitch a story critical of rival Google Inc. Soghoian was approached by Burson-Marsteller, asking him to write about a product called Google Social Circles, exploring whether it violates user privacy. Soghoian speaks with Cory Johnson on Bloomberg Television's "Bloomberg West." (Source Bloomberg)
http://wn.com/Bloomberg_News_Facebook_trying_to_attack_Google_Plus_Social_Circles
Shock Value
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:14
- Published: 21 Jul 2011
- Uploaded: 08 Feb 2012
- Author: TheAmazingAtheist
New Signed Photobook: goodsie.com TJdoesLife: Murder and Pettiness youtu.be Discuss this video on my forums forum.thatfatatheist.com Visit my site www.thatfatatheist.com Watch my Movie on YouTube http LIFETIME RENTAL CODY WEBER's YouTube www.youtube.com
http://wn.com/Shock_Value
Zazie Je Suis Un Homme French & English Subtitles
Stunning , powerful 2007 hit song by French singer/songwriter Zazie. I guess we would call this the ultimate protest song, taking mankind to task for everything we've done to the Earth, the way we live, and finally seeing the rotation of the Earth as our punishment for going around in circles. Thanks once again to philipchek of YouTube and Paris for fine tuning this translation.
http://wn.com/Zazie_Je_Suis_Un_Homme_French_English_Subtitles
Moroccan American Author, Laila Lalami, on Her Second Novel " Secret Son"
At her reading, organized by Algonquin Books, Washington Moroccan Club and Border Books, in Washington DC, Moroccan American Author, Laila Lalami, described the central character of her second novel in English, "Secret Son", as a poor young man in contemporary Morocco, his aspirations of education and escape from the Casablanca Slum where he lives with his mother, the revelation that his father is still alive and doing well and his sub-sequential adventures. In a lively Q&A session following her presentation, She refused to be seen as anything but a novelist, "I am not pretending to know my native country Morocco any more than anyone else". She said that she does not necessarily aim to do social criticism, or write about any particular issue, her main focus as a novelist, is to write a story as best I can. And since her characters live in Moroccan society, that society's characteristics, contradictions and shortcomings are laid bare to the reader to ponder. What emerged from her second book, Secret Son, is ambiguity, and that, for Laila Lalami, is normal providing her upbringing, education, experience both here in the States and in Morocco. In an interview with MoroccoBoard TV, Laila Lalami took issue with her comparisons to Moroccan Writer Tahar Ben Jelloun, as the marquee Moroccan author in English. She said that she couldnt start believing all the hype that is being written out there. "It is dangerous for an author to do that". She also confessed that she has been <b>...</b>
http://wn.com/Moroccan_American_Author,_Laila_Lalami,_on_Her_Second_Novel__Secret_Son
Manufactured Consent -Intellectual Self-Defense 5/17
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:59
- Published: 11 Feb 2009
- Uploaded: 01 Nov 2011
- Author: RazeTheNWO
A film about the noted American linguist/political dissident and his warning about corporate media's role in modern propaganda. media propaganda chomsky analysis east timor government linguist political debate genocide media coverage conspiracy journalism mind control corruption new york times corporation interview social criticism massachusetts institute of technology archive footage newspaper editor anti
http://wn.com/Manufactured_Consent_-Intellectual_Self-Defense_5/17
Afghani musicians Mehri Maftun aoin concert in Arnhem
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:53
- Published: 02 May 2007
- Uploaded: 29 Nov 2011
- Author: janbelleman
Afghani musicians Mahjid Pansiri, Rachid Machinai, Gholam Saqi, Mehri Maftun eo Mehri Maftun is a musical authority, especially with regard to his skill at the dambura, the harmonium and the ghichak. In a country from which music has been banished, Maftun manages to keep it alive. In his work he combines local, regional and trans-ethnic musical and literary elements, the latter ranging from comedy and romanticism to social criticism.
http://wn.com/Afghani_musicians_Mehri_Maftun_aoin_concert_in_Arnhem
La Haine (1995)
English subs Directed by Mathieu Kassovitz featuring Vincent Cassel, Hubert Koundé and Saïd Taghmaoui
http://wn.com/La_Haine_1995
T.McKenna Psychedelics In The Age Of Intelligent Machines p1
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:51
- Published: 12 May 2008
- Uploaded: 10 Sep 2011
- Author: QuantumNonLocal
Terence McKenna (1946—2000) has been studying the ontological foundations of Shamanism and the Ethnopharmacology of spiritual transformation for the past quarter century. An innovative theoretician and spellbinding orator, Terence has emerged as a powerful voice for the psychedelic movement and the emergent societal tendency he calls The Archaic Revival. Poetically dispensing enlightened social criticism and new theories of the fractal dynamics of time, Terence deobfuscates many aspects of the visionary lexicon, and then some. As Artist Alex Grey suggests, "In the twilight of human history, McKenna's prescription for salvation is just so crazy it might work."
http://wn.com/TMcKenna_Psychedelics_In_The_Age_Of_Intelligent_Machines_p1
New Moon: Victim Porn
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:13
- Published: 24 Nov 2009
- Uploaded: 29 Jan 2012
- Author: seanbedlam
The Twilight series of books should make the womenfolk hang their heads in shame. twitter.com theseanbedlam.blogspot.com www.myspace.com I'm on Facebook too. If you feel strongly that my earth-shattering observations are a precious natural resource, you might care to donate some cash. Clues at my blogz.
http://wn.com/New_Moon_Victim_Porn
Jacques Brel Tango Funèbre Funeral Tango English subtitles
Jacques Brel envisions his hypocritical friends and family at the time of his death and decides to live now. 1964 Dutch performance. Thanks once again to philipchek of Paris and YouTube for his patient and thorough help with this translation and the baffling world of French idiom.
http://wn.com/Jacques_Brel_Tango_Funèbre_Funeral_Tango_English_subtitles
![[Audio] Baudrillard: Profusion, from](http://web.archive.org./web/20120214134617im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/UQsDM0vlGyQ/0.jpg "[Audio] Baudrillard: Profusion, from")
[Audio] Baudrillard: Profusion, from "The Consumer Society"
I wanted to upload this video to my "ContraPoints" channel, but I am not enabled for videos over 15 minutes long on that channel, so I'll upload it here. I'm going to upload some videos of me reading excerpts from philosophical texts, which I do not necessarily agree with entirely, but which I find interesting and want to share with other people. This excerpt is the first chapter of "The Consumer Society" by Jean Baudrillard. It was published in French in 1970 and is still relevant today. Follow me on Twitter: twitter.com Subscribe to my other channel: www.youtube.com
http://wn.com/ Audio _Baudrillard_Profusion,_from_The_Consumer_Society
Chapter - Pre Menstrual Syndrome (PMS)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:53
- Published: 11 Nov 2011
- Uploaded: 07 Feb 2012
- Author: chaptersworldtv
Buy Album: itunes.apple.com It's that time of the month again for Erika Dyer and she is psycho on her cycle. Her husband Lonnie has had just about enough of her insane behavior. It seems every month Lonnie' life is turned upside down, disrespected and his happiness teeters on his wife's pre menstrual syndrome. In need of support Erika decides to throw a period party with her girlfriends Karen and Letty and together they have an angry feast. She is cramping, in heat and eating up everything she sees. Chapter plays roles in her music using "Satire" which is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement. Although satire is usually meant to be funny, its greater purpose is often constructive social criticism, using wit as a weapon. Artist: , Driector: Chapter, Producer: Chris Jackson, Editor: Eric Guerrero, Executive Producer: Chris Jackson, Songwriters: Chapter, Chris Jackson, Music Produced by: Adeasy A Creative Indie Artists Production www.chaptersworld.tv https www.myspace.com www.twitter.com Verse One: Mood swings, fatigue, bags, I'm happy when I'm mad I get so depressed, because I don't look good In my dress must be PMS Pre Chorus: I'm cramping I'm in heat I'm eating up everything I see But he's so sweet he rubes my feet, he's so sweet he rubes <b>...</b>
http://wn.com/Chapter__Pre_Menstrual_Syndrome_PMS
cornelis vreeswijk daarom noem ik je liefste in een lied
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:40
- Published: 04 Sep 2009
- Uploaded: 12 Jan 2012
- Author: mariaslide
Cornelis Vreeswijk explained in one of his few interviews that he had taught himself to sing and play in the fifties by imitating his first idols Josh White and Leadbelly. His first album, Ballader och oförskämdheter (Ballads and Insults, 1964), was a hit which immediately gained him a large following among the emerging radical student generation. In this period he also played with Swedish jazz pianist Jan Johansson and his trio. His songs "Ångbåtsblues" (Steam Boat Blues) and "Jubelvisa för Fiffiga Nannette" (Cheering song for Ingenious Nannette) are classics from these recordings. His abrasive, frequently political lyrics and unconventional delivery were a deliberate break with what he was later to describe as a Swedish song tradition of pretty singing and harmless lyrics, "a hobby for the upper classes". Influenced by jazz and blues and especially by the singing style and social criticism of Georges Brassens, Vreeswijk "speak-sings" his "insults", and compels his listeners to pay close attention to the words.
http://wn.com/cornelis_vreeswijk_daarom_noem_ik_je_liefste_in_een_lied
Noam Chomsky - History of Media - Manufactured Consent
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:14
- Published: 12 May 2011
- Uploaded: 08 Feb 2012
- Author: 44connected
www.facebook.com Noam Chomsky, is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and social activist. He is an Institute Professor and professor emeritus of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Chomsky is well known in the academic and scientific community as one of the fathers of modern linguistics, and a major figure of analytic philosophy. Since the 1960s, he has become known more widely as a political dissident and an anarchist, referring to himself as a libertarian socialist. Chomsky is the author of more than 150 books and has received worldwide attention for his views. In the 1950s, Chomsky began developing his theory of generative grammar, which has undergone numerous revisions and has had a profound influence on linguistics. His approach to the study of language emphasizes "an innate set of linguistic principles shared by all humans" known as universal grammar, "the initial state of the language learner," and discovering an "account for linguistic variation via the most general possible mechanisms."[9] He elaborated on these ideas in 1957's Syntactic Structures, which then laid the groundwork for the concept of transformational grammar. He also established the Chomsky hierarchy, a classification of formal languages in terms of their generative power. In 1959, Chomsky published a widely influential review of BF Skinner's theoretical book Verbal Behavior. In this review and other writings, Chomsky broadly and aggressively challenged <b>...</b>
http://wn.com/Noam_Chomsky__History_of_Media__Manufactured_Consent
bell hooks: Cultural Criticism & Transformation
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:02
- Published: 03 Oct 2006
- Uploaded: 06 Feb 2012
- Author: ChallengingMedia
www.mediaed.org bell hooks is one of America's most accessible public intellectuals. In this two-part video, extensively illustrated with many of the images under analysis, she makes a compelling argument for the transformative power of cultural criticism. In Part One, hooks discusses the theoretical foundations and positions that inform her work (such as the motives behind representations, as well as their power in social and cultural life). hooks also explains why she insists on using the phrase "white supremacist capitalist patriarchy" to describe the interlocking systems of domination that define our reality. In Part Two, she domonstrates the value of cultural studies in concrete analysis through such subjects as the OJ Simpson case, Madonna, Spike Lee, and Gangsta rap. The aim of cultural analysis, she argues, should be the production of enlightened witnesses - audiences who engaged with the representations of cultural life knowledgeably and vigilantly. "The issue is not freeing ourselves from representations. It's really about being enlightened witnesses when we watch representations." -bell hooks
http://wn.com/bell_hooks_Cultural_Criticism_Transformation
Causes of Social Anxiety Disorder
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:07
- Published: 20 Aug 2009
- Uploaded: 06 Feb 2012
- Author: ModernCave
moderncavedweller.com Some people are able to mask their discomfort and go about their lives mildly uncomfortable in social situations, while others remain perpetually in a living hell. Those whose condition affects them to the degree that their lives are severely diminished are in need of treatment. Whats the cause of this phobic reaction to personal interaction? The causes may be either or both biological or learned. Its possible that the initial cause of social anxiety disorder is an underlying chemical imbalance affecting the neurotransmitter, serotonin. Some theorize that this imbalance restricts the way messages travel between nerve cells. This imbalance can alter the way people react during stressful situations. Research is still in its infancy. Conditioning as a result of childhood humiliation, psychological abuse, sheltering, nervous parents, lack of praise, an overabundance of criticism, trauma can have psychological ramifications resulting in social anxiety disorder. But the cause is not as important as the cure. To date, there is no complete cure, however there is treatment which can alleviate most of the symptoms and enable a person with this disorder to function happily and productively. If you know of someone that you believe suffers from this crippling disorder, understand and accept them, love them and get them into treatment. The successful completion of the treatment program can be like a rebirth for those who suffer from social anxiety disorder.
http://wn.com/Causes_of_Social_Anxiety_Disorder
Chris De Burgh interview in Iran to get the permission
The 59-year-old arrived in Tehran on Tuesday to examine the possibility of holding a series of concerts this autumn for Iranians, who are among his most faithful fans. "I can't tell you what a great pleasure it is to be here. This has been my dream since I was a little boy," the clearly delighted singer told a conference packed with domestic and foreign journalists in the Iranian capital. De Burgh has been invited by the Taraneh Sharghi music production company, whose leading pop band, Arian, has recorded a song called "The Words I Love You" with de Burgh in a mix of English and Persian. Arian in 1999 was the first Iranian pop band after the revolution to receive a permit to perform in public. All recordings and concerts in Iran require a permit from the ministry of culture and Islamic guidance to be legal. De Burgh said he was aware of the restrictions imposed on performing arts in Iran but insisted that he was determined to play concerts to "make a difference". "I am not politically naive and I don't believe everything I read in the media," he said, adding that friends and family had raised eyebrows at his plans of visiting Iran and tried to talk him out of it. "I say to them what are you doing to make a difference?" he said, insisting he was there for ordinary people "just as I went to Lebanon after the civil war" between 1975 to 1990. "I do not want to make snap judgements. I know some things are forbidden, like alcohol, but I don't have a problem with that," he said <b>...</b>
http://wn.com/Chris_De_Burgh_interview_in_Iran_to_get_the_permission
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NEW YORK — The Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast-cancer charity today abandoned plans to eliminate grants to Planned Parenthood. The startling decision came after three days of virulent criticism that resounded across the Internet, jeopardizing Komens iconic image. We want to apologize to...
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Answers to Five Critical Social Media Questions
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Huffington Post
In order to guarantee sustainability for your social media and online communications, there are five vital steps to consider: 1) When did the social media game start? Social Media is as old as the Earth; in fact it's been around forever but just in different formats! From biblical and mythical years...
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Gulf News
It is difficult to say whether forcing people to reveal their real names is a good practice or not. In terms of websites like Facebook, I think people should be asked to give their real names because it is a platform where you can access other people's profiles and pictures and, therefore, it needs...
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Social criticism analyzes social structures which are seen as flawed and aims at practical solutions by specific measures, radical reform or even revolutionary change.
The starting points of social criticism can be very different and certain political theories have never had a monopoly on it. The starting point can be the experience of a minority within society generally (e.g., Homosexuality) or even the experience of a group of people ''within'' a progressive social movement which does not live up to its progressive agenda in every respect.
Academic forms
The positivism dispute between critical rationalism (e.g. Karl Popper) and the Frankfurt School exemplified the principal problem whether the research in the social sciences should strive be "neutral" or "objective" or consciously adopt a necessarily partisan view.Works of social criticism can belong to social philosophy, political economy, sociology, social psychology, psychoanalysis but also cultural studies and other disciplines or reject academic forms of discourse.
In literature and music
Social criticism can also be expressed in a fictional form, e.g., in a revolutionary novel like ''The Iron Heel'' by Jack London or in dystopian novels like Aldous Huxley's ''Brave New World'' (1932) or George Orwell's ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (1949) or Ray Bradburys ''Fahrenheit 451'' (1953), children's books or films.Fictional literature can have a significant social impact. "For example, the 1852 novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'', by Harriet Beecher Stowe furthered the antislavery movement in the United States, and the 1885 novel ''Ramona'', by Helen Hunt Jackson, brought about changes in laws regarding Native Americans. Similarly, Upton Sinclair's 1906 novel ''The Jungle'' helped create new laws related to public health and food handling, and Arthur Morrison's 1896 novel ''A Child of the Jago'' caused England to change its housing laws."
George Orwell and Charles Dickens wrote ''Animal Farm'' and ''A Tale of Two Cities'', respectively, to express their disillusionment with society and human nature. ''Animal Farm'', written in 1944, is a book that tells the animal fable of a farm in which the farm animals revolt against their human masters. It is an example of social criticism in literature in which Orwell satirized the events in Russia after the Bolshevik Revolution. He anthropomorphises the animals, and alludes each one to a counterpart in Russian history. ''A Tale of Two Cities'' also typifies this kind of literature. Besides the central theme of love, is another prevalent theme, that of a revolution gone bad. He shows us that, unfortunately, human nature causes us to be vengeful and, for some of us, overly ambitious. Both these books are similar in that both describe how, even with the best of intentions, our ambitions get the best of us. Both authors also demonstrate that violence and the Machiavellian attitude of "the ends justifying the means" are deplorable. They also express their authors' disenchantment with the state of evolution of human nature.They seem to be saying, that even when we begin with honourable intentions, there will be some of us who will let their base instincts take control. Orwell, in ''Animal Farm'' portrays this nature by parodying events in real history. Given the right conditions, those events could happen anywhere - a leader becoming overly ambitious, to the point of harming his people for more power. In ''A Tale of Two Cities'', Dickens examines the inner soul, and shares with us how people are driven to the valley of human emotions, where desperation and anger reign, and what could happen afterwards if we let these emotions build up inside. Every human being is capable of becoming a ruthless, opportunistic being like Napoleon or Madame Defarge, if placed in the right place, at the right time.
Musical expressions of social criticism are very frequent in punk and rap music, examples being "Pretty Vacant" by Sex Pistols and "Brenda's Got a Baby" by Tupac, respectively. Heavy metal bands such as Metallica and Megadeth also use social criticism extensively, particularly in their earlier works.
Classical works
Contemporary authors
See also
References
Sources
Category:Discrimination Category:Sociology Category:Cultural studies Category:New Left Category:Left-wing politics
ar:النقد الاجتماعي ca:Crítica social de:Gesellschaftskritik es:Crítica social eo:Socia kritiko is:Samfélagsrýni lb:Gesellschaftskritik pt:Crítica social sl:Družbena kritika fi:Yhteiskuntakritiikki sv:Samhällskritik uk:СоціокритикаThis text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
| Coordinates | 45°30′″N73°40′″N |
|---|---|
| Group | Moroccan Americans |
| Poptime | 38,923 |
| Popplace | New York City, Washington D.C., Florida (Jacksonville) |
| Langs | Moroccan Arabic, Arabic, Tamazight, English, French, Spanish |
| Rels | predominantly Muslim, Non-religious and Jewish minority |
| Related | }} |
Moroccan Americans are persons of Moroccan birth or ancestry who are United States citizens.
Media
See also
References
+ Americans
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
| Coordinates | 45°30′″N73°40′″N |
|---|---|
| name | Laila Lalami |
| birth date | 1968 |
| birth place | Rabat, Morocco |
| occupation | Novelist, Professor |
| nationality | Morocco, United States |
| website | http://lailalalami.com/ }} |
Laila Lalami (, born 1968) is a Moroccan American novelist and essayist.
Lalami was born and raised in Rabat, Morocco, where she earned her B.A. in English from Université Mohammed V. In 1991, she received a British Council fellowship to study in England, and she went on to complete a M.A. in Linguistics at University College London. After graduating she returned to Morocco and worked briefly as a journalist and commentator. In 1992 she moved to Los Angeles where she earned a Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Southern California.
Lalami switched to writing fiction and nonfiction in English in 1996. She has published literary criticism and political essays in ''The Boston Globe'', ''Boston Review'', ''The Los Angeles Times'', ''The Nation'', ''The New York Times'', ''The Washington Post'', ''The Daily Beast'', and elsewhere.
Lalami became the first Moroccan author to publish a book of fiction written in English with a major commercial press in the United States.
Her debut collection of stories, ''Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits'', was released in the fall of 2005 and has since been translated into six languages. Her first novel, ''Secret Son'', was published in the spring of 2009 and was longlisted for the Orange Prize.
Lalami is the recipient of an Oregon Literary Arts grant and a Fulbright Fellowship. She was selected by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader in 2009.
She is currently Associate Professor of Creative Writing at the University of California, Riverside.
Bibliography
References
External links
Category:1968 births Category:Moroccan writers Category:American novelists Category:People from Rabat Category:Living people Category:Moroccan literary critics Category:American people of Moroccan descent Category:University of Southern California alumni Category:Alumni of University College London Category:Muslim writers Category:University of California, Riverside faculty Category:WEF YGL honorees
fr:Laila Lalami it:Laila Lalami ro:Laila Lalami
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
| Coordinates | 45°30′″N73°40′″N |
|---|---|
| name | Jacques Brel |
| background | solo_singer |
| birth name | Jacques Romain Georges Brel |
| birth date | April 08, 1929 |
| birth place | Schaarbeek, Belgium |
| death date | October 09, 1978 |
| death place | Bobigny, France |
| resting place | Calvary Cemetery, Atuona, Hiva Oa, Marquesas Islands |
| genre | Chanson |
| occupation | Singer-songwriter, actor |
| years active | 1953–1978 |
| label | Philips Records, Barclay Records, Universal Records |
| website | www.jacquesbrel.be }} |
Jacques Brel (; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer-songwriter who composed and performed an impressive catalog of literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following in France initially, and later throughout the world. Although he recorded most of his songs in French, he became a major influence on English-speaking songwriters and performers such as David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, and Rod McKuen. English translations of his songs were recorded by many top performers in the United States, including Ray Charles, Judy Collins, John Denver, the Kingston Trio, Nina Simone, Frank Sinatra, Scott Walker, and Andy Williams.
In French-speaking countries, Brel was also a successful actor, appearing in ten films. He also directed two films, one of which, ''Le Far West'', was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1973. Jacques Brel has sold over 25 million records worldwide, and is the third best-selling Belgian recording artist of all time.
Early years
Jacques Romain Georges Brel was born on 8 April 1929 in Schaarbeek, Belgium, a district of Brussels to Romain Brel and Elisabeth Lambertine Brel. Although his family spoke French, they were of Flemish descent, with some of the family originating from Zandvoorde, near Ypres. His father worked in an import-export firm, and later became co-director of a company that manufactured cardboard cartons. Jacques and his older brother Pierre grew up in an austere family atmosphere, attending a Catholic primary school run by the Saint-Viateur Brothers, and local Scout troop meetings. They lived at 138 Avenue du Diamant in Schaerbeek, one of the 19 Brussels communes. Jacques was close to his mother, fascinated by her generosity and sense of humor, which he inherited.In 1941, his parents enrolled Jacques at the Saint-Louis College, at rue du Marais, near the Botanical Garden of Brussels. Although he did poorly in many subjects, he showed a talent for writing essays. He helped set up the Saint-Louis College Drama Club, and took on his first stage roles with great enthusiasm. He also wrote short stories and poems. In 1944, at the age of 15, Jacques began playing the guitar. The following year, he began forming his own theatre group with friends and writing plays.
Brel was never a good student, failing many of his exams. In August 1947, at the age of 18, Jacques went to work in the father's packaging business. To offset the boredom of his daily office routine, he joined a local Catholic youth organization, La Franche Cordée, which was dedicated to philanthropic work. In 1948, Brel also enrolled for part-time military service. By 1949, Brel become president of La Franche Cordée, and produced a number of benefit plays for the organization, including Saint Exupéry's ''Le Petit Prince''.
While working at La Franche Cordée, Brel met his future wife, Thérèse Michielsen, known to her friends as Miche. On 1 June 1950, Jacques and Miche were married at Laeken, a Brussels commune. On 6 December 1951, Miche gave birth to their first daughter, Chantal.
Music career
1953–1959
In 1952, Brel began writing songs and performing them at family gatherings and in Brussels' cabaret circuit. His family and friends were not supportive of Brel's stark lyrics and violent, emotional performances. That year he performed on a local radio station for the first time.In January 1953, Brel performed at the cabaret La Rose Noire in Brussels. In February he signed a contract with Philips Records and recorded his first 78 rpm record, "La Foire", which was released in March. The talent scout and artistic director at the record company, Jacques Canetti, invited Brel to move to Paris. Despite his family's objections and the added pressure of a second daughter, France, born on 12 July, Brel left Brussels for Paris in the fall of 1953.
In Paris, Brel worked hard to get his career off the ground. He stayed at the Hotel Stevens and gave guitar lessons to artist-dancer Francesco Frediani to pay his rent. He found work on the cabaret circuit at venues such as L'Ecluse, L'Echelle de Jacob, and in Jacques Canetti's cabaret Les Trois Baudets.
In 1954, Brel competed in the music contest "Grand Prix de la Chanson" in Knokke-le-Zoute, finishing a disappointing 27th out of 28 participants. One positive result of the experience was that the French star Juliette Gréco requested to sing one of Brel's songs, "Ça va le diable", at her upcoming concert at the prestigious Olympia music-hall. She went on to record the song that spring. In July 1954, Brel made his first appearance at the prestigious Olympia Theatre in Paris. That summer, Brel embarked on his first French tour, appearing on the bill with French singers Dario Moreno, Philippe Clay, and Catherine Sauvage. By the end of the year, Philips released his debut album, a nine-song, 10" LP called ''Jacques Brel et Ses Chansons''.
In February 1955, Brel met Georges Pasquier (known as Jojo) who would become the singer's closest friend, manager, and personal chauffeur. He began singing with a number of Christian associations, which later led to his being called, "Abbé Brel". In March, Brel's wife and children joined him in France and the family settled in the Paris suburb of Montreuil-sous-Bois at the rue du Moulin à Vent. In June, Brel toured France again with Canetti's "Les Filles de Papa", which included Françoise Dorin, Perette Soumlex, and Suzanne Gabriello.
In March 1956, Brel performed in North Africa, Amsterdam, Lausanne, and throughout Belgium. In May 1956, Brel achieved his commercial breakthrough with his song "Quand On n'a Que l'Amour" ("If We Only Have Love"), released on his second album ''Quand On n'a Que l'Amour'', an EP record. The song reached number three on the French music charts. In July 1956, while visiting Grenoble, Brel met François Rauber, a classical pianist who would become his accompanist on future recordings. Rauber played a major role in providing Brel with the formal musical training he was lacking, and was responsible for Brel's musical arrangements.
In February 1957, Brel performed at the Alhambra Theatre with Maurice Chevalier, Michel Legrand, and ballet dancer Zizi Jeanmaire. In June 1957, Brel won the prestigious Grand Prix du Disque from the Académie Charles Cros. In September 1957, Brel appeared on the bill in the Discorama programmme "Au Palace d'Avignon" with Raymond Devos, Pierre-Jean Vaillard, and Les Trois Ménestrels. And in November 1957, Brel met pianist Gérard Jouannest, another talented pianist, who would accompany Brel during his live concerts. Brel and Jouannest would also collaborate on many of Brel's future classic songs, such as "Madeleine", "La chanson des vieux amants", and "Les Vieux".
In February 1958, Brel's wife Miche and their two children returned to live in Belgium, while Brel rented a room near Place de Clichy in Paris — a place to stay on those rare occasions when he was not touring. In March and April, Brel recorded his third album, ''Au Printemps''. In May, while touring Canada for the first time, Brel met Félix Leclerc. On August 23, Brel's third daughter, Isabelle, was born back in Belgium. In November, Brel gave a recital at the Halles d'Arlon in Luxembourg with Stéphane Steeman. And in December, Brel appeared at the Olympia as the supporting act to Philippe Clay. The pianist Gérard Jouannest and François Rauber joined Brel on stage for this performance. Brel's incredibly emotional performance brought the house down.
In January 1959, Brel signed a new recording contract with Philips Records. He continued to tour extensively throughout the year. On 22 February, Brel performed at the Bolivie Gala in the Solvay Casino in Couillet. In March, he starred at the "Trois Baudets" with Serge Gainsbourg. In September 1959, Brel recorded his fourth album, ''La Valse à Mille Temps''. During one session, on 14 September, he recorded the songs "La valse à 1000 temps" and "Les flamandes" with François Rauber and his orchestra. On 14 October, he appears at the Eden in Mouscron with Raymond Devos. On 20 November, he sang with Charles Aznavour at the Ancienne Belgique in Brussels. At the close of the decade, Brel gained an impressive and enthusiastic following across France. He was so popular that he was invited to headline at an end-of-year concert at the renowned Bobino Cabaret in Paris. The concert was an enormous success. During these appearances, Brel stopped accompanying himself on the guitar in order to concentrate entirely on his increasingly theatrical vocal performances.
1960–1967
In January 1960, Brel's new impressario, Charles Marouani, organised a series of international concert tours for the singer that would take him from the French provinces to the former Soviet Union, the Middle East, Canada, and the United States. From 19-24 March, he appears at the Ancienne Belgique in Brussels. On 19 October, he performed at the Shepheard's Hotel in Cairo. The year's concert tours brought him international recognition and popularity. His appearances initiated the first United States release of a Jacques Brel recording, ''American Début'', released on Columbia Records. It was a compilation of previously-released Philips tracks.In January 1961, Brel made a triumphant return to the Bobino Theatre. By now, accordionist Jean Corti had joined Brel's touring group. Between 22 February and 12 April, he recorded his fifth album, ''5'', introducing future Brel classics "Marieke" and "Le Moribond". Brel toured Canada again in March. In Montreal, he met French actress and singer Clairette Oddera at her club on the rue Saint-Jacques. They would become good friends. While in Montreal, Brel appears with Raymond Devos at "La Comédie Canadienne". In May, Brel performed at the Kurhaus in The Hague in the Netherlands. From 12-29 October, Brel returned to the Olympia Theatre in Paris with star billing, after Marlène Dietrich cancelled at the last minute. Many critics point to these inspired performances as the turning point in his career. The audiences responded with rapturous applause, and the critics proclaimed him as the new star of French chanson.
In March 1962, Brel left Philips Records and signed a five-year contract with Barclay Records. The contact would be renewed in 1967 for another six years. His first album release for his new label was a live album, ''Enregistrement Public à l'Olympia 1961'', recorded the previous year. On 6 March, he recorded his first song for Barclay, "Le plat pays". During the second week of March, he recorded the remaining tracks for his sixth studio album, Les Bourgeois. In addition to "Le plat pays" and the title song, the new album contained the future Brel classics "Madeleine", "Les Biches", and "La Statue". In October, Brel set up his own music publishing company, Arlequin, which was soon renamed Editions Musicales Pouchenel. Brel's wife Miche was appointed company director. In November, he recorded "Les Bigotes", "Quand maman reviendra", "Les filles et les chiens", and "La Parlote" as singles.
In April 1963, Brel performs at the Bobino in Paris. In July, he headlined at the Casino in Knokke for the fifth "Coupe d'Europe de Tour de Chant". During this engagement, he performed the classic Brel song "Mathilde" for the first time. Brel also returned for another triumphant engagement at the Olympia Theatre in Paris, performing with Isabelle Aubret as the support act. Once again, Brel's performance was a critical and artistic success, with the audience leaping up from their seats in a standing ovation following Brel's emotional rendering of "Amsterdam".
The year 1964 brought a mix of personal tragedies and professional triumphs. On 8 January, Brel's father Romain died of bronchial pneumonia. Only two months later, on 7 March, his mother Elisabeth (nicknamed Mouky) also died. At the same time, he was given the Gold Medal of Brussels from the Tourist Information Bureau, and won a prize from the Société d’Auteurs Belge Belgische Auteurs Maatschappij (SABAM). He was also awarded the French Academy's Grand Prix du Disque. Brel continued his ambitious touring schedule. By the end of the year, he released a new live album, ''Enregistrement Public à l'Olympia 1964''. That year, Brel discovered a new passion, aviation. After taking flying lessons with Paul Lepanse, he purchased a small plane. In the United States, Brel's audience was growing. American poet and singer Rod McKuen began translating Brel's songs into English, and the Kingston Trio recorded one of his English versions on their ''Time to Think'' album, "Seasons in the Sun", based on Brel's "Le Moribond".
In 1965, Reprise Records licensed tracks from Barclay for a United States album titled ''Jacques Brel''. On 25 March, Brel performed at the Kurhaus of Scheveningen in the Netherlands. In October 1965, Brel completed a successful five-week tour of the former Soviet Union, which included a week's engagement at the Estrada Theatre in Moscow. On 6 November, he was back in France, recording the songs "Fernand", "Les désespérés", and "Ces gens-là" for Barclay. On 4 December, he appeared at the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York City. His performance was received with high public and critical acclaim.
Under the influence of his friend Georges Pasquier ('Jojo') and pianists Gérard Jouannest and François Rauber, Brel's style changed. He was no longer a Catholic-humanist troubadour, but sang grimmer songs about love, death, and the struggle that is life. The music became more complex and his themes more diverse, exploring love (''Je t'aime'', ''Litanies pour un Retour''), society (''Les Singes'', ''Les Bourgeois'', ''Jaurès''), and spiritual concerns (''Le Bon Dieu'', ''Dites, Si c'était Vrai'', ''Fernand''). His work was not limited to one style. He was as proficient in funny compositions (''Le Lion'', ''Comment Tuer l'Amant de sa Femme...'') as in more emotional ones (''Voir un Ami Pleurer'', ''Fils de...'', ''Jojo'').
But he occasionally included parts in Dutch as in "'Marieke", and also recorded Dutch versions of a few songs such as ''Le Plat Pays'' (''Mijn vlakke land''), ''Ne me quitte pas'' (''Laat Me Niet Alleen''), ''Rosa'', ''Les Bourgeois'' (''De Burgerij'') and ''Les paumés du petit matin'' (''De Nuttelozen van de Nacht''). A rather obscure single was uncovered only a few years ago having Brel singing in Dutch ''De apen'' (''Les singes'') and ''Men vergeet niets'' (''On n'oublie rien''). These two were included in the 16 CD box ''Boîte à Bonbons''. Since his own command of Dutch was poor, most of his later Dutch interpretations were translated by Ernst van Altena, but ''De Apen'' by Eric Franssen, ''Men vergeet niets'' by well known Flemish artist Will Ferdy and ''Marieke'' was translated by Brel himself.
Acting career
He starred in the musical ''L'Homme de la Mancha (Man of La Mancha)'' which he also translated into French and directed. As an actor he gained fame playing opposite Lino Ventura in ''L'Emmerdeur'' and ''L'aventure, c'est l'aventure''. In 1969 he took the lead role opposite Claude Jade in ''Mon oncle Benjamin''. ''Le Far West'', a comedy which he directed, co-wrote and appeared in, competed for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1973.
Later years
In 1974 he embarked in a yacht, planning to sail around the world. When he reached the Canary Islands, Brel was diagnosed with lung cancer. He returned to Paris for treatment and later continued his ocean voyage. He was also a keen pilot and owned several small planes, including the eponymous 'Jojo'.In 1975 he reached the Marquesas Islands, and decided to stay, remaining there until 1977 when he returned to Paris and recorded his well-received final album. He died in 1978 at age 49 and was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Atuona, Hiva Oa, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia, only a few yards away from painter Paul Gauguin.
Translations of his work
Brel songs have been recorded by musicians in many languages. English versions of his songs have been recorded by a huge variety of artists too, most frequently using the translations by Mort Shuman and Eric Blau. Rod McKuen was one of the first American artists to discover and translate Brel. Canadian Terry Jacks' version of "Seasons in the Sun" became a global pop hit in 1974, topping the charts internationally. McKuen and Brel formed a close friendship, upon Brel's death, McKuen said "When news of Jacques' death came, I stayed locked in my bedroom and drank for a week."However, his most frequently recorded song is "Ne me quitte pas" ("Don't Leave Me"), usually rather freely translated in English as "If You Go Away". Overall, there have been at least 400 different recorded versions of this standard in at least 22 different languages. Marlene Dietrich recorded "Ne me quitte pas" in German ("Bitte geh' nicht fort"). Mireille Mathieu, Nana Mouskouri, Nina Simone, Ute Lemper, Natacha Atlas, Karrin Allyson, Sandie Shaw, Flossie Malavialle and Sting recorded "Ne me quitte pas" in French. Paris-based Colombian salsa singer Yuri Buenaventura performed versions of "Ne me quitte pas" in both French and Spanish ("No Me Dejes Mas"). Russian version of the song ("Когда ты уйдёшь") was recorded by rock group Mumiy Troll. Barbra Streisand recorded the song for her 2009 album "Love Is The Answer".
English translations of Brel's songs, in particular also "Ne me quitte pas" translations, have been subject to criticism and are regarded by some as being stripped of their original lyricism. For example, Brel's "Ne me quitte pas" evocatively states, "Moi, je t'offrirai / Des perles de pluie / Venues de pays / Où il ne pleut pas" [I, I'll offer you / Pearls of rain / That come from countries / Where it doesn't rain ]. However, Rod McKuen’s English translation replaces that imagery with "But if you stay / I'll make you a day / Like no day has been / or will be again."
In 1986 Momus and more recently Barb Jungr recorded new English translations of "Ne me quitte pas" which are much nearer to the original. Jungr used a translation called "Don't leave me now" by Des de Moor. Momus translated and recorded "Don't Leave Me" because he was dissatisfied with the dominant English translations to date. "People always sing the versions by Rod McKuen, which are highly sentimentalised, or the versions by Mort Shuman which are better but still really Americanised. To me the strength of Brel is that he doesn't come from the American tradition of songwriting, it's a strongly European thing."
After McKuen and before Shuman & Blau, the Brel translation that made the greatest impact on the folk-related protest song audience of the late '60s was "The Dove" ("La Colombe"), an anti-war lament recorded both by Joan Baez and Judy Collins. This was the only translation of a Brel song to be written by Alasdair Clayre (1935-1984), an Oxford-educated Englishman who had a brief career as a singer-songwriter before becoming an author, academic and sometime producer of BBC documentaries. Clayre died on 10 January, 1984, in a British subway station, by either jumping or falling in front of a train. (See Wikipedia listing for Alasdair Clayre)
Other examples of critique include songs like "Jef", as translated by Mort Shuman and Eric Blau, bearing little resemblance to the original. Terry Jacks intended to "lighten up" "Seasons in the Sun" and thereby completely removed the cynical gist of Brel's "Le Moribond", which perhaps explains why this version became such a global pop hit in 1974.
Tom Robinson has performed and released live recordings of "Les Bourgeois" in both the original French and his own English translation adaptation, entitled "Yuppie Scum."
On their 2009 CD ''Troubadours'', American duo The Black Veils performed their own "poetic and faithful" English translations of Brel's "Ne me quitte pas" ("Don't Leave Me"), "Jaurès", "Il neige sur Liège" ("Snowfall on Liège"), and "Mai 40".
Translations to other languages, e.g. German, have also come in for much criticism. However, Ernst van Altena's Dutch early translations, partly done in cooperation with Brel himself, are generally considered to be relatively true to the original as well as poetic.
Brel's widow said that Arnold Johnston, a professor at Western Michigan University, translated Brel's work more accurately than Blau and Shuman, and eventually gave Dr. Johnston exclusive rights to translate Brel's work into English. Dr. Johnston recorded ''I'm Here!'' a collection of twenty songs, using a grant from the university.
An American musical revue of his songs, ''Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris'', which debuted in 1968, has played around the world since. The opening song of ''Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris'' is "Les Flamandes", translated by Shuman and Blau as "Marathon", which is a charming encapsulation of the United States in the 20th century (mentioning, among others, Charles Lindbergh and Sacco and Vanzetti) but it bears no relationship to the original French lyrics of the song, a tongue-in-cheek assessment of the Flemish.
Scott Walker's first three solo albums, titled ''Scott'', ''Scott 2'', and ''Scott 3'', each contain three of the Blau/Shuman translations. Several of the original songs on this album, and on the later ''Scott 4'', can be seen as heavily influenced by Brel.
David Bowie sang Brel's "Amsterdam" at a BBC session with John Peel and Evilan Tom (not released until 2000 on ''Bowie at the Beeb'') This was also released as the B-side to Sorrow in 1973 and was released as a bonus track on the 1990 reissue of Pin-ups. (Dave Van Ronk also recorded this song, earlier, on Van Ronk). Bowie also sang a translation of Brel's called "My Death", during his ''Ziggy Stardust'' era. A very popular number on his concerts, it was never recorded in studio, even though it appears on two live albums: Live Santa Monica '72 and Ziggy Stardust - The Motion Picture. A similar version of this song was also recorded by Show Of Hands.
Marc Almond already from his early albums with Marc and the Mambas onwards performed Brel songs, and he released his successful "Jacques" album containing solely Brel songs in 1989. He also released ''Jacky'' in 1991 as a successful single. Almond nearly always plays at least one Brel song during live concerts.
The band Vambo Marble Eye (after a Sensational Alex Harvey Band song title) from the United States recorded a version of "Next" for their 1991 album "Two Trick Pony", 18 years after an English-language version of the song by SAHB in 1973, from their "Next" album.
Notable faithful German translations have been made by Didier Caesar of the duo Stéphane & Didier. Dieter Kaiser, a Belgian-German singer, who performs internationally in public concerts with the French-German professional guitarist, Stéphane Bazire, as Stéphane & Didier, has translated 30 of Brel's songs and has gathered them in a booklet. They can also be found on the website www.deutsche-chanson-texte.de among over 100 other French chansons in German. He also issued 1 CD in German and 1 in French with various chansons of Brel. Klaus Hoffmann is another important German interpreter of Brel. Also the Austrian actor Michael Heltau, who was asked by Brel himself to record his songs, using the translation of Werner Schneyder.
Sometime in the early '80s, a second Brel revue, called "Encore Brel," was produced in Canada. This editor does not know when, where or whether it was ever performed on stage, having only a bootlegged cassette of a performance on CBC Radio. I also do not know who wrote the translations, except that Alasdair Clayre's "The Dove" was included. The revue uses mostly Brel's later songs, including two from his last album, "Friend, Don't Let Me See You Cry" ("Voir un Ami Pleurer"), and "To Grow Old" ("Vieillir").
Discography
Assembling a comprehensive Jacques Brel discography is difficult, because his recordings have been released in so many different permutations, in different countries and in different formats. Furthermore, releases of Brel's recordings are sometimes known by different titles. This discography is restricted to Brel's original albums, as collected and reissued on 23 September 2003 in the sixteen CD box set of his work ''Boîte à Bonbons'', plus the additional album ''Chansons ou Versions Inédites de Jeunesse'', which was released for the first time as part of this box set. The titles listed here are the titles used in the box set. To mark the 25th anniversary of Brel's death, Barclay Records issued ''Comme quand il était beau'' (2003), a 3 volume DVD collection of Brel interviews and live performances as well as the compilation album ''Infiniment'' (2004). Both releases include five previously unpublished songs that Brel wrote in 1977: "La Cathédrale", "L'amour est mort", "Mai 40", "Avec Élégance", and "Sans Exigences".
Studio albums
Live albums
Rarities
Cover versions
Filmography
As actor
As director
As writer
As self
References
External links
* Category:1929 births Category:1978 deaths Category:People from Schaerbeek Category:Belgian actors Category:Belgian atheists Category:Belgian poets Category:Belgian male singers Category:Belgian singer-songwriters Category:Cabaret singers Category:Cancer deaths in France Category:Deaths from lung cancer Category:Former Roman Catholics Category:French-language singers
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Avram Noam Chomsky (; born December 7, 1928) is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor (Emeritus) in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for over 50 years. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics" and a major figure of analytic philosophy. His work has influenced fields such as computer science, mathematics, and psychology.
Chomsky is credited as the creator or co-creator of the Chomsky hierarchy, the universal grammar theory, and the Chomsky–Schützenberger theorem.
Ideologically identifying with anarchism and libertarian socialism, Chomsky is known for his critiques of U.S. foreign policy and contemporary capitalism, and he has been described as a prominent cultural figure. His media criticism has included ''Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media'' (1988), co-written with Edward S. Herman, an analysis articulating the propaganda model theory for examining the media.
According to the Arts and Humanities Citation Index in 1992, Chomsky was cited as a source more often than any other living scholar from 1980 to 1992, and was the eighth most cited source overall. Chomsky is the author of over 100 books.
Life and career
Chomsky was born on the morning of December 7, 1928, to Jewish parents in the affluent East Oak Lane neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of noted professor of Hebrew at Gratz College and IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) member William Chomsky (1896–1977), a native of Ukraine. His mother, Elsie Chomsky (née Simonofsky)—a native of what is present-day Belarus—grew up in the United States and, unlike her husband, spoke "ordinary New York English". Chomsky's parents' first language was Yiddish, but Chomsky said it was "taboo" in his family to speak it. Although Chomsky's mother was part of the radical activism in the 1930s, he was influenced largely by his uncle who, having never passed 4th grade, owned a newsstand that acted as an "intellectual center [where] professors of this and that argu[ed] all night". Chomsky was influenced also by being a part of a Hebrew-based, Zionist organization, as well as by hanging around anarchist bookstores.He describes his family as living in a sort of "Jewish ghetto", split into a "Yiddish side" and "Hebrew side", with his family aligning with the latter and bringing him up "immersed in Hebrew culture and literature", though he means more a "cultural ghetto than a physical one". Chomsky also describes tensions he experienced with Irish Catholics and German Catholics and anti-semitism in the mid-1930s. He recalls "beer parties" celebrating the fall of Paris to the Nazis. In a discussion of the irony of his staying in the 1980s in a Jesuit House in Central America, Chomsky explained that during his childhood, "We were the only Jewish family around. I grew up with a visceral fear of Catholics. They're the people who beat you up on your way to school. So I knew when they came out of that building down the street, which was the Jesuit school, they were raving anti-Semites. So childhood memories took a long time to overcome."
Chomsky remembers the first article he wrote was at age 10 while a student at Oak Lane Country Day School about the threat of the spread of fascism, following the fall of Barcelona in the Spanish Civil War. From the age of 12 or 13, he identified more fully with anarchist politics.
A graduate of Central High School of Philadelphia, Chomsky began studying philosophy and linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania in 1945, taking classes with philosophers such as C. West Churchman and Nelson Goodman and linguist Zellig Harris. Harris's teaching included his discovery of transformations as a mathematical analysis of language structure (mappings from one subset to another in the set of sentences). Chomsky referred to the morphophonemic rules in his 1951 master's thesis—''The Morphophonemics of Modern Hebrew''—as transformations in the sense of Carnap's 1938 notion of rules of transformation (vs. rules of formation), and subsequently reinterpreted the notion of grammatical transformations in a very different way from Harris, as operations on the productions of a context-free grammar (derived from Post production systems). Harris's political views were instrumental in shaping those of Chomsky. Chomsky earned a BA in 1949 and an MA in 1951.
In 1949, he married linguist Carol Schatz. They remained married for 59 years until her death from cancer in December 2008. The couple had two daughters, Aviva (b. 1957) and Diane (b. 1960), and a son, Harry (b. 1967). With his wife Carol, Chomsky spent time in 1953 living in HaZore'a, a kibbutz in Israel. Asked in an interview whether the stay was "a disappointment" Chomsky replied, "No, I loved it"; however, he "couldn't stand the ideological atmosphere" and "fervent nationalism" in the early 1950s at the kibbutz, with Stalin being defended by many of the left-leaning kibbutz members who chose to paint a rosy image of future possibilities and contemporary realities in the USSR. Chomsky notes seeing many positive elements in the commune-like living of the kibbutz, in which parents and children lived together in separate houses, and when asked whether there were "lessons that we have learned from the history of the kibbutz", responded, that in "some respects, the kibbutzim came closer to the anarchist ideal than any other attempt that lasted for more than a very brief moment before destruction, or that was on anything like a similar scale. In these respects, I think they were extremely attractive and successful; apart from personal accident, I probably would have lived there myself – for how long, it's hard to guess."
Chomsky received his PhD in linguistics from the University of Pennsylvania in 1955. He conducted part of his doctoral research during four years at Harvard University as a Harvard Junior Fellow. In his doctoral thesis, he began to develop some of his linguistic ideas, elaborating on them in his 1957 book ''Syntactic Structures'', one of his best-known works in linguistics.
Chomsky joined the staff of MIT in 1955 and in 1961 was appointed full professor in the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics (now the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy). From 1966 to 1976 he held the Ferrari P. Ward Professorship of Modern Languages and Linguistics, and in 1976 he was appointed Institute Professor. As of 2010, Chomsky has taught at MIT continuously for 55 years.
In February 1967, Chomsky became one of the leading opponents of the Vietnam War with the publication of his essay, "The Responsibility of Intellectuals", in ''The New York Review of Books''. This was followed by his 1969 book, ''American Power and the New Mandarins,'' a collection of essays that established him at the forefront of American dissent. His far-reaching criticisms of U.S. foreign policy and the legitimacy of U.S. power have raised controversy he is frequently sought out for his views by publications and news outlets internationally. In 1977 he delivered the Huizinga Lecture in Leiden, the Netherlands, under the title: ''Intellectuals and the State''.
Chomsky has received death threats because of his criticisms of U.S. foreign policy. He was also on a list of planned targets created by Theodore Kaczynski, better known as the Unabomber; during the period that Kaczynski was at large, Chomsky had all of his mail checked for explosives. He states that he often receives undercover police protection, in particular while on the MIT campus, although he does not agree with the police protection.
Chomsky resides in Lexington, Massachusetts, and travels often, giving lectures on politics.
Contributions to linguistics
Chomskyan linguistics, beginning with his ''Syntactic Structures'', a distillation of his '' Logical Structure of Linguistic Theory'' (1955, 75), challenges structural linguistics and introduces transformational grammar. This approach takes utterances (sequences of words) to have a syntax characterized by a formal grammar; in particular, a context-free grammar extended with transformational rules.Perhaps his most influential and time-tested contribution to the field, is the claim that modeling knowledge of language using a formal grammar accounts for the "productivity" or "creativity" of language. In other words, a formal grammar of a language can explain the ability of a hearer-speaker to produce and interpret an infinite number of utterances, including novel ones, with a limited set of grammatical rules and a finite set of terms. He has always acknowledged his debt to Pāṇini for his modern notion of an explicit generative grammar although it is also related to rationalist ideas of a priori knowledge.
It is a popular misconception that Chomsky proved that language is entirely innate and discovered a "universal grammar" (UG). In fact, Chomsky simply observed that while a human baby and a kitten are both capable of inductive reasoning, if they are exposed to exactly the same linguistic data, the human child will always acquire the ability to understand and produce language, while the kitten will never acquire either ability. Chomsky labeled whatever the relevant capacity the human has which the cat lacks the "language acquisition device" (LAD) and suggested that one of the tasks for linguistics should be to figure out what the LAD is and what constraints it puts on the range of possible human languages. The universal features that would result from these constraints are often termed "universal grammar" or UG.
The Principles and Parameters approach (P&P;)—developed in his Pisa 1979 Lectures, later published as ''Lectures on Government and Binding'' (LGB)—makes strong claims regarding universal grammar: that the grammatical principles underlying languages are innate and fixed, and the differences among the world's languages can be characterized in terms of parameter settings in the brain (such as the pro-drop parameter, which indicates whether an explicit subject is always required, as in English, or can be optionally dropped, as in Spanish), which are often likened to switches. (Hence the term principles and parameters, often given to this approach.) In this view, a child learning a language need only acquire the necessary lexical items (words, grammatical morphemes, and idioms), and determine the appropriate parameter settings, which can be done based on a few key examples.
Proponents of this view argue that the pace at which children learn languages is inexplicably rapid, unless children have an innate ability to learn languages. The similar steps followed by children all across the world when learning languages, and the fact that children make certain characteristic errors as they learn their first language, whereas other seemingly logical kinds of errors never occur (and, according to Chomsky, should be attested if a purely general, rather than language-specific, learning mechanism were being employed), are also pointed to as motivation for innateness.
More recently, in his Minimalist Program (1995), while retaining the core concept of "principles and parameters," Chomsky attempts a major overhaul of the linguistic machinery involved in the LGB model, stripping from it all but the barest necessary elements, while advocating a general approach to the architecture of the human language faculty that emphasizes principles of economy and optimal design, reverting to a derivational approach to generation, in contrast with the largely representational approach of classic P&P.;
Chomsky's ideas have had a strong influence on researchers of the language acquisition in children, though many researchers in this area such as Elizabeth Bates and Michael Tomasello argue very strongly against Chomsky's theories, and instead advocate emergentist or connectionist theories, explaining language with a number of general processing mechanisms in the brain that interact with the extensive and complex social environment in which language is used and learned.
His best-known work in phonology is ''The Sound Pattern of English'' (1968), written with Morris Halle (and often known as simply ''SPE''). This work has had a great significance for the development in the field. While phonological theory has since moved beyond "SPE phonology" in many important respects, the SPE system is considered the precursor of some of the most influential phonological theories today, including autosegmental phonology, lexical phonology and optimality theory. Chomsky no longer publishes on phonology.
Generative grammar
The Chomskyan approach towards syntax, often termed generative grammar, studies grammar as a body of knowledge possessed by language users. Since the 1960s, Chomsky has maintained that much of this knowledge is innate, implying that children need only learn certain parochial features of their native languages. The innate body of linguistic knowledge is often termed universal grammar. From Chomsky's perspective, the strongest evidence for the existence of Universal Grammar is simply the fact that children successfully acquire their native languages in so little time. Furthermore, he argues that there is an enormous gap between the linguistic stimuli to which children are exposed and the rich linguistic knowledge they attain (the "poverty of the stimulus" argument). The knowledge of Universal Grammar would serve to bridge that gap.Chomsky's theories have been immensely influential within linguistics, but they have also received criticism. One recurring criticism of the Chomskyan variety of generative grammar is that it is Anglocentric and Eurocentric, and that often linguists working in this tradition have a tendency to base claims about Universal Grammar on a very small sample of languages, sometimes just one. Initially, the Eurocentrism was exhibited in an overemphasis on the study of English. However, hundreds of different languages have now received at least some attention within Chomskyan linguistic analyses. In spite of the diversity of languages that have been characterized by UG derivations, critics continue to argue that the formalisms within Chomskyan linguistics are Anglocentric and misrepresent the properties of languages that are different from English. Thus, Chomsky's approach has been criticized as a form of linguistic imperialism. In addition, Chomskyan linguists rely heavily on the intuitions of native speakers regarding which sentences of their languages are well-formed. This practice has been criticized on general methodological grounds. Some psychologists and psycholinguists, though sympathetic to Chomsky's overall program, have argued that Chomskyan linguists pay insufficient attention to experimental data from language processing, with the consequence that their theories are not psychologically plausible. Other critics (see language learning) have questioned whether it is necessary to posit Universal Grammar to explain child language acquisition, arguing that domain-general learning mechanisms are sufficient.
Today there are many different branches of generative grammar; one can view grammatical frameworks such as head-driven phrase structure grammar, lexical functional grammar and combinatory categorial grammar as broadly Chomskyan and generative in orientation, but with significant differences in execution.
Chomsky hierarchy
Chomsky is famous for investigating various kinds of formal languages and whether or not they might be capable of capturing key properties of human language. His Chomsky hierarchy partitions formal grammars into classes, or groups, with increasing expressive power, i.e., each successive class can generate a broader set of formal languages than the one before. Interestingly, Chomsky argues that modeling some aspects of human language requires a more complex formal grammar (as measured by the Chomsky hierarchy) than modeling others. For example, while a regular language is powerful enough to model English morphology, it is not powerful enough to model English syntax. In addition to being relevant in linguistics, the Chomsky hierarchy has also become important in computer science (especially in compiler construction and automata theory). Indeed, there is an equivalence between the Chomsky language hierarchy and the different kinds of automata. Thus theorems about languages are often dealt with as either languages (grammars) or automata.An alternate method of dealing with languages is based upon Formal Power series. Formal Power series as well as the relationship between languages and semi-groups continued to occupy M. P. Schützenberger at the Sorbonne. Formal Power Series are similar to the Taylor Series one encounters in a course on Calculus, and is especially useful for languages where words (terminal symbols) are commutative.
Contributions to psychology
Chomsky's work in linguistics has had profound implications for modern psychology. For Chomsky, linguistics is a branch of cognitive psychology; genuine insights in linguistics imply concomitant understandings of aspects of mental processing and human nature. His theory of a universal grammar was seen by many as a direct challenge to the established behaviorist theories of the time and had major consequences for understanding how children learn language and what, exactly, the ability to use language is.In 1959, Chomsky published an influential critique of B.F. Skinner's ''Verbal Behavior'', a book in which Skinner offered a theoretical account of language in functional, behavioral terms. He defined "Verbal Behavior" as learned behavior that has characteristic consequences delivered through the learned behavior of others. This makes for a view of communicative behaviors much larger than that usually addressed by linguists. Skinner's approach focused on the circumstances in which language was used; for example, asking for water was functionally a different response than labeling something as water, responding to someone asking for water, etc. These functionally different kinds of responses, which required in turn separate explanations, sharply contrasted both with traditional notions of language and Chomsky's psycholinguistic approach. Chomsky thought that a functionalist explanation restricting itself to questions of communicative performance ignored important questions. (Chomsky—Language and Mind, 1968). He focused on questions concerning the operation and development of innate structures for syntax capable of creatively organizing, cohering, adapting and combining words and phrases into intelligible utterances.
In the review Chomsky emphasized that the scientific application of behavioral principles from animal research is severely lacking in explanatory adequacy and is furthermore particularly superficial as an account of human verbal behavior because a theory restricting itself to external conditions, to "what is learned," cannot adequately account for generative grammar. Chomsky raised the examples of rapid language acquisition of children, including their quickly developing ability to form grammatical sentences, and the universally creative language use of competent native speakers to highlight the ways in which Skinner's view exemplified under-determination of theory by evidence. He argued that to understand human verbal behavior such as the creative aspects of language use and language development, one must first postulate a genetic linguistic endowment. The assumption that important aspects of language are the product of universal innate ability runs counter to Skinner's radical behaviorism.
Chomsky's 1959 review has drawn fire from a number of critics, the most famous criticism being that of Kenneth MacCorquodale's 1970 paper ''On Chomsky’s Review of Skinner’s Verbal Behavior'' (''Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior,'' volume 13, pages 83–99). MacCorquodale's argument was updated and expanded in important respects by Nathan Stemmer in a 1990 paper, ''Skinner's Verbal Behavior, Chomsky's review, and mentalism'' (''Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior,'' volume 54, pages 307–319). These and similar critiques have raised certain points not generally acknowledged outside of behavioral psychology, such as the claim that Chomsky did not possess an adequate understanding of either behavioral psychology in general, or the differences between Skinner's behaviorism and other varieties. Consequently, it is argued that he made several serious errors. On account of these perceived problems, the critics maintain that the review failed to demonstrate what it has often been cited as doing. As such, it is averred that those most influenced by Chomsky's paper probably either already substantially agreed with Chomsky or never actually read it. The review has been further critiqued for misrepresenting the work of Skinner and others, including by quoting out of context. Chomsky has maintained that the review was directed at the way Skinner's variant of behavioral psychology "was being used in Quinean empiricism and naturalization of philosophy."
It has been claimed that Chomsky's critique of Skinner's methodology and basic assumptions paved the way for the "cognitive revolution", the shift in American psychology between the 1950s through the 1970s from being primarily behavioral to being primarily cognitive. In his 1966 ''Cartesian Linguistics'' and subsequent works, Chomsky laid out an explanation of human language faculties that has become the model for investigation in some areas of psychology. Much of the present conception of how the mind works draws directly from ideas that found their first persuasive author of modern times in Chomsky.
There are three key ideas. First is that the mind is "cognitive", or that the mind actually contains mental states, beliefs, doubts, and so on. Second, he argued that most of the important properties of language and mind are innate. The acquisition and development of a language is a result of the unfolding of innate propensities triggered by the experiential input of the external environment. The link between human innate aptitude to language and heredity has been at the core of the debate opposing Noam Chomsky to Jean Piaget at the Abbaye de Royaumont in 1975 (''Language and Learning. The Debate between Jean Piaget and Noam Chomsky,'' Harvard University Press, 1980). Although links between the genetic setup of humans and aptitude to language have been suggested at that time and in later discussions, we are still far from understanding the genetic bases of human language. Work derived from the model of selective stabilization of synapses set up by Jean-Pierre Changeux, Philippe Courrège and Antoine Danchin, and more recently developed experimentally and theoretically by Jacques Mehler and Stanislas Dehaene in particular in the domain of numerical cognition lend support to the Chomskyan "nativism". It does not, however, provide clues about the type of rules that would organize neuronal connections to permit language competence. Subsequent psychologists have extended this general "nativist" thesis beyond language. Lastly, Chomsky made the concept of "modularity" a critical feature of the mind's cognitive architecture. The mind is composed of an array of interacting, specialized subsystems with limited flows of inter-communication. This model contrasts sharply with the old idea that any piece of information in the mind could be accessed by any other cognitive process (optical illusions, for example, cannot be "turned off" even when they are known to be illusions).
Approach to science
Chomsky sees science as a straightforward search for explanation, and rejects the views of it as a catalog of facts or mechanical explanations. In this light, the majority of his contributions to science have been frameworks and hypotheses, rather than "discoveries."As such, he considers certain so-called post-structuralist or postmodern critiques of logic and reason to be nonsensical:
I have spent a lot of my life working on questions such as these, using the only methods I know of; those condemned here as "science", "rationality," "logic," and so on. I therefore read the papers with some hope that they would help me "transcend" these limitations, or perhaps suggest an entirely different course. I'm afraid I was disappointed. Admittedly, that may be my own limitation. Quite regularly, "my eyes glaze over" when I read polysyllabic discourse on the themes of poststructuralism and postmodernism; what I understand is largely truism or error, but that is only a fraction of the total word count. True, there are lots of other things I don't understand: the articles in the current issues of math and physics journals, for example. But there is a difference. In the latter case, I know how to get to understand them, and have done so, in cases of particular interest to me; and I also know that people in these fields can explain the contents to me at my level, so that I can gain what (partial) understanding I may want. In contrast, no one seems to be able to explain to me why the latest post-this-and-that is (for the most part) other than truism, error, or gibberish, and I do not know how to proceed.
Although Chomsky believes that a scientific background is important to teach proper reasoning, he holds that science in general is "inadequate" to understand complicated problems like human affairs:
Science talks about very simple things, and asks hard questions about them. As soon as things become too complex, science can’t deal with them... But it’s a complicated matter: Science studies what’s at the edge of understanding, and what’s at the edge of understanding is usually fairly simple. And it rarely reaches human affairs. Human affairs are way too complicated.
Debates
Chomsky has been known to vigorously defend and debate his views and opinions, in philosophy, linguistics, and politics. He has had notable debates with Jean Piaget, Michel Foucault, William F. Buckley, Jr., Christopher Hitchens, George Lakoff, Richard Perle, Hilary Putnam, Willard Quine, and Alan Dershowitz, to name a few. In response to his speaking style being criticized as boring, Chomsky said that "I'm a boring speaker and I like it that way.... I doubt that people are attracted to whatever the persona is.... People are interested in the issues, and they're interested in the issues because they are important." "We don't want to be swayed by superficial eloquence, by emotion and so on."
Political views
Chomsky has stated that his "personal visions are fairly traditional anarchist ones, with origins in the Enlightenment and classical liberalism" and he has praised libertarian socialism. Although Chomsky tries to avoid the ambiguity of labels, his political views are often characterized in news accounts as "leftist" or "left-wing," and he has described himself as an anarcho-syndicalist. He is a member of the Campaign for Peace and Democracy and the Industrial Workers of the World international union. He published a book on anarchism titled ''Chomsky on Anarchism'', published by the anarchist book collective AK Press in 2006.Chomsky has engaged in political activism all of his adult life and expressed opinions on politics and world events, which are widely cited, publicized and discussed. Chomsky has in turn argued that his views are those the powerful do not want to hear and for this reason he is considered an American political dissident.
Chomsky asserts that authority, unless justified, is inherently illegitimate and that the burden of proof is on those in authority. If this burden can't be met, the authority in question should be dismantled. Authority for its own sake is inherently unjustified. An example given by Chomsky of a legitimate authority is that exerted by an adult to prevent a young child from wandering into traffic. He contends that there is little moral difference between chattel slavery and renting one's self to an owner or "wage slavery". He feels that it is an attack on personal integrity that undermines individual freedom. He holds that workers should own and control their workplace, a view held (as he notes) by the Lowell Mill Girls.
Chomsky has strongly criticized the foreign policy of the United States. He claims double standards in a foreign policy preaching democracy and freedom for all while allying itself with non-democratic and repressive organizations and states such as Chile under Augusto Pinochet and argues that this results in massive human rights violations. He often argues that America's intervention in foreign nations, including the secret aid given to the Contras in Nicaragua, an event of which he has been very critical, fits any standard description of terrorism, including "official definitions in the US Code and Army Manuals in the early 1980s." Before its collapse, Chomsky also condemned Soviet imperialism; for example in 1986 during a question/answer following a lecture he gave at Universidad Centroamericana in Nicaragua, when challenged about how he could "talk about North American imperialism and Russian imperialism in the same breath," Chomsky responded: "One of the truths about the world is that there are two superpowers, one a huge power which happens to have its boot on your neck; another, a smaller power which happens to have its boot on other people's necks. I think that anyone in the Third World would be making a grave error if they succumbed to illusions about these matters."
Regarding the death of Osama bin Laden, Chomsky stated: "We might ask ourselves how we would be reacting if Iraqi commandos landed at George W. Bush's compound, assassinated him, and dumped his body in the Atlantic. Uncontroversially, his crimes vastly exceed bin Laden’s, and he is not a 'suspect' but uncontroversially the 'decider' who gave the orders to commit the 'supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole' (quoting the Nuremberg Tribunal) for which Nazi criminals were hanged: the hundreds of thousands of deaths, millions of refugees, destruction of much of the country, [and] the bitter sectarian conflict that has now spread to the rest of the region."
He has argued that the mass media in the United States largely serve as a "bought priesthood" of the U.S. government and U.S.-based corporations, with the three intertwined through common interests. In a famous reference to Walter Lippmann, Chomsky along with his coauthor Edward S. Herman has written that the American media manufactures consent among the public. Chomsky has condemned the 2010 US Supreme Court ''Citizens United'' ruling revoking the limits on campaign finance, calling it a "corporate takeover of democracy."
Chomsky opposes the U.S. global "war on drugs", claiming its language is misleading, and refers to it as "the war on certain drugs." He favors drug policy reform, in education and prevention rather than military or police action as a means of reducing drug use. In an interview in 1999, Chomsky argued that, whereas crops such as tobacco receive no mention in governmental exposition, other non-profitable crops, such as marijuana are attacked because of the effect achieved by persecuting the poor. He has stated:
U.S. domestic drug policy does not carry out its stated goals, and policymakers are well aware of that. If it isn't about reducing substance abuse, what is it about? It is reasonably clear, both from current actions and the historical record, that substances tend to be criminalized when they are associated with the so-called dangerous classes, that the criminalization of certain substances is a technique of social control.
Chomsky is critical of the American "state capitalist" system and big business, he describes himself as a socialist, specifically an anarcho-syndicalist, and is critical of "authoritarian" communist branches of socialism. He also believes that socialist values exemplify the rational and morally consistent extension of original unreconstructed classical liberal and radical humanist ideas to an industrial context. He believes that society should be highly organized and based on democratic control of communities and work places. He believes that the radical humanist ideas of his two major influences, Bertrand Russell and John Dewey, were "rooted in the Enlightenment and classical liberalism, and retain their revolutionary character."
Chomsky has stated that he believes the United States remains the "greatest country in the world", a comment that he later clarified by saying, "Evaluating countries is senseless and I would never put things in those terms, but that some of America's advances, particularly in the area of free speech, that have been achieved by centuries of popular struggle, are to be admired." He has also said "In many respects, the United States is the freest country in the world. I don't just mean in terms of limits on state coercion, though that's true too, but also in terms of individual relations. The United States comes closer to classlessness in terms of interpersonal relations than virtually any society."
Chomsky objects to the criticism that anarchism is inconsistent with support for government welfare, stating in part:
One can, of course, take the position that we don't care about the problems people face today, and want to think about a possible tomorrow. OK, but then don't pretend to have any interest in human beings and their fate, and stay in the seminar room and intellectual coffee house with other privileged people. Or one can take a much more humane position: I want to work, today, to build a better society for tomorrow – the classical anarchist position, quite different from the slogans in the question. That's exactly right, and it leads directly to support for the people facing problems today: for enforcement of health and safety regulation, provision of national health insurance, support systems for people who need them, etc. That is not a sufficient condition for organizing for a different and better future, but it is a necessary condition. Anything else will receive the well-merited contempt of people who do not have the luxury to disregard the circumstances in which they live, and try to survive.
Chomsky holds views that can be summarized as anti-war but not strictly pacifist. He prominently opposed the Vietnam War and most other wars in his lifetime. He expressed these views with tax resistance and peace walks. In 1968, he signed the “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War. He published a number of articles about the war in Vietnam, including "The Responsibility of Intellectuals". He maintains that U.S. involvement in World War II to defeat the Axis powers was probably justified, with the caveat that a preferable outcome would have been to end or prevent the war through earlier diplomacy. He believes that the dropping of nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were "among the most unspeakable crimes in history".
Chomsky has made many criticisms of the Israeli government, its supporters, the United States' support of the government and its treatment of the Palestinian people, arguing that " 'supporters of Israel' are in reality supporters of its moral degeneration and probable ultimate destruction" and that "Israel's very clear choice of expansion over security may well lead to that consequence." Chomsky disagreed with the founding of Israel as a Jewish state, saying, "I don't think a Jewish or Christian or Islamic state is a proper concept. I would object to the United States as a Christian state." Chomsky hesitated before publishing work critical of Israeli policies while his parents were alive, because he "knew it would hurt them" he says, "mostly because of their friends, who reacted hysterically to views like those expressed in my work." On May 16, 2010, Israeli authorities detained Chomsky and ultimately refused his entry to the West Bank via Jordan. A spokesman for the Israeli Prime Minister indicated that the refusal of entry was simply due to a border guard who "overstepped his authority" and a second attempt to enter would likely be allowed. Chomsky disagreed, saying that the Interior Ministry official who interviewed him was taking instructions from his superiors. Chomsky maintained that based on the several hours of interviewing, he was denied entry because of the things he says and because he was visiting a university in the West Bank but no Israeli universities.
Chomsky has a broad view of free-speech rights, especially in the mass media, and opposes censorship. He has stated that "with regard to freedom of speech there are basically two positions: you defend it vigorously for views you hate, or you reject it and prefer Stalinist/fascist standards". With reference to the United States diplomatic cables leak, Chomsky suggested that "perhaps the most dramatic revelation ... is the bitter hatred of democracy that is revealed both by the U.S. Government -- Hillary Clinton, others -- and also by the diplomatic service." Chomsky refuses to take legal action against those who may have libeled him and prefers to counter libels through open letters in newspapers. One notable example of this approach is his response to an article by Emma Brockes in ''The Guardian'' which alleged he denied the existence of the Srebrenica massacre. Chomsky's complaint prompted The Guardian to publish an apologetic correction and to withdraw the article from the paper's website.
Chomsky has frequently stated that there is no connection between his work in linguistics and his political views and is generally critical of the idea that competent discussion of political topics requires expert knowledge in academic fields. In a 1969 interview, he said regarding the connection between his politics and his work in linguistics:
I still feel myself that there is a kind of tenuous connection. I would not want to overstate it but I think it means something to me at least. I think that anyone's political ideas or their ideas of social organization must be rooted ultimately in some concept of human nature and human needs.
Some critics have accused Chomsky of hypocrisy when, in spite of his political criticism of American and European military imperialism, early research at the institution (MIT) where he did his linguistic research had been substantially funded by the American military. Chomsky makes the argument that because he has received funding from the U.S. military, he has an even greater responsibility to criticize and resist its immoral actions.
He is also an outspoken advocate against the use of the death penalty and has spoken against the execution of Steven Woods.
I think the death penalty is a crime no matter what the circumstances, and it is particularly awful in the Steven Woods case. I strongly oppose the execution of Steven Woods on September 13, 2011.
Influence in other fields
''Chomskyan'' models have been used as a theoretical basis in several other fields. The Chomsky hierarchy is often taught in fundamental computer science courses as it confers insight into the various types of formal languages. This hierarchy can also be discussed in mathematical terms and has generated interest among mathematicians, particularly combinatorialists. Some arguments in evolutionary psychology are derived from his research results.The 1984 Nobel Prize laureate in Medicine and Physiology, Niels K. Jerne, used Chomsky's generative model to explain the human immune system, equating "components of a generative grammar ... with various features of protein structures". The title of Jerne's Stockholm Nobel lecture was "The Generative Grammar of the Immune System".
Nim Chimpsky, a chimpanzee who was the subject of a study in animal language acquisition at Columbia University, was named after Chomsky in reference to his view of language acquisition as a uniquely human ability.
Famous computer scientist Donald Knuth admits to reading Syntactic Structures during his honeymoon and being greatly influenced by it. "...I must admit to taking a copy of Noam Chomsky's Syntactic Structures along with me on my honeymoon in 1961 ... Here was a marvelous thing: a mathematical theory of language in which I could use a computer programmer's intuition!".
Another focus of Chomsky's political work has been an analysis of mainstream mass media (especially in the United States), its structures and constraints, and its perceived role in supporting big business and government interests.
Edward S. Herman and Chomsky's book ''Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media'' (1988) explores this topic in depth, presenting their "propaganda model" of the news media with numerous detailed case studies demonstrating it. According to this propaganda model, more democratic societies like the U.S. use subtle, non-violent means of control, unlike totalitarian systems, where physical force can readily be used to coerce the general population. In an often-quoted remark, Chomsky states that "propaganda is to a democracy what the bludgeon is to a totalitarian state." (Media Control)
The model attempts to explain this perceived systemic bias of the mass media in terms of structural economic causes rather than a conspiracy of people. It argues the bias derives from five "filters" that all published news must "pass through," which combine to systematically distort news coverage.
In explaining the first filter, ownership, he notes that most major media outlets are owned by large corporations. The second, funding, notes that the outlets derive the majority of their funding from advertising, not readers. Thus, since they are profit-oriented businesses selling a product—readers and audiences—to other businesses (advertisers), the model expects them to publish news that reflects the desires and values of those businesses. In addition, the news media are dependent on government institutions and major businesses with strong biases as sources (the third filter) for much of their information. Flak, the fourth filter, refers to the various pressure groups that attack the media for supposed bias. Norms, the fifth filter, refer to the common conceptions shared by those in the profession of journalism. (Note: in the original text, published in 1988, the fifth filter was "anticommunism". However, with the fall of the Soviet Union, it has been broadened to allow for shifts in public opinion.) The model describes how the media form a decentralized and non-conspiratorial but nonetheless very powerful propaganda system, that is able to mobilize an elite consensus, frame public debate within elite perspectives and at the same time give the appearance of democratic consent.
Chomsky and Herman test their model empirically by picking "paired examples"—pairs of events that were objectively similar except for the alignment of domestic elite interests. They use a number of such examples to attempt to show that in cases where an "official enemy" does something (like murder of a religious official), the press investigates thoroughly and devotes a great amount of coverage to the matter, thus victims of "enemy" states are considered "worthy". But when the domestic government or an ally does the same thing (or worse), the press downplays the story, thus victims of US or US client states are considered "unworthy."
They also test their model against the case that is often held up as the best example of a free and aggressively independent press, the media coverage of the Tet Offensive during the Vietnam War. Even in this case, they argue that the press was behaving subserviently to elite interests.
Academic achievements, awards and honors
In early 1969, he delivered the John Locke Lectures at Oxford University; in January 1970, the Bertrand Russell Memorial Lecture at University of Cambridge; in 1972, the Nehru Memorial Lecture in New Delhi; in 1977, the Huizinga Lecture in Leiden; in 1988 the Massey Lectures at the University of Toronto, titled "Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies"; in 1997, The Davie Memorial Lecture on Academic Freedom in Cape Town, and many others.Chomsky has received many honorary degrees from universities around the world, including from the following:
He is a member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Department of Social Sciences.
In 2005, Chomsky received an honorary fellowship from the Literary and Historical Society. In 2007, Chomsky received The Uppsala University (Sweden) Honorary Doctor's degree in commemoration of Carolus Linnaeus. In February 2008, he received the President's Medal from the Literary and Debating Society of the National University of Ireland, Galway. Since 2009 he is an honorary member of IAPTI.
In 2010, Chomsky received the Erich Fromm Prize in Stuttgart, Germany. In April 2010, Chomsky became the third scholar to receive the University of Wisconsin's A.E. Havens Center's Award for Lifetime Contribution to Critical Scholarship.
Chomsky has an Erdős number of four.
Chomsky was voted the leading living public intellectual in The 2005 Global Intellectuals Poll conducted by the British magazine ''Prospect''. He reacted, saying "I don't pay a lot of attention to polls". In a list compiled by the magazine ''New Statesman'' in 2006, he was voted seventh in the list of "Heroes of our time".
Actor Viggo Mortensen with avant-garde guitarist Buckethead dedicated their 2006 album, called ''Pandemoniumfromamerica'', to Chomsky.
On January 22, 2010, a special honorary concert for Chomsky was given at Kresge Auditorium at MIT. The concert, attended by Chomsky and dozens of his family and friends, featured music composed by Edward Manukyan and speeches by Chomsky's colleagues, including David Pesetsky of MIT and Gennaro Chierchia, head of the linguistics department at Harvard University.
In June 2011, Chomsky was awarded the Sydney Peace Prize, which cited his "unfailing courage, critical analysis of power and promotion of human rights".
In 2011, Chomsky was inducted into IEEE Intelligent Systems' AI's Hall of Fame for the "significant contributions to the field of AI and intelligent systems".
Bibliography
Filmography
See also
References
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ar:نعوم تشومسكي an:Noam Chomsky ast:Noam Chomsky az:Noam Çomski bn:নোম চম্স্কি zh-min-nan:Noam Chomsky be:Ноам Хомскі be-x-old:Ноам Чомскі bo:ནམ་ཆོམ་སི་ཀེ། bs:Noam Chomsky br:Noam Chomsky bg:Ноам Чомски ca:Noam Chomsky cs:Noam Chomsky cy:Noam Chomsky da:Noam Chomsky de:Noam Chomsky et:Noam Chomsky el:Νόαμ Τσόμσκι es:Noam Chomsky eo:Noam Chomsky ext:Noam Chomski eu:Noam Chomsky fa:نوآم چامسکی hif:Noam Chomsky fr:Noam Chomsky ga:Noam Chomsky gd:Noam Chomsky gl:Noam Chomsky gu:નોઆમ ચોમ્સ્કી ko:노엄 촘스키 hy:Նոամ Չոմսկի hi:नोआम चाम्सकी hr:Noam Chomsky io:Noam Chomsky id:Noam Chomsky ia:Noam Chomsky os:Хомски, Ноам is:Noam Chomsky it:Noam Chomsky he:נועם חומסקי kn:ನೋಅಮ್ ಚಾಮ್ಸ್ಕೀ ka:ნოამ ჩომსკი kk:Ноам Чомски sw:Noam Chomsky ku:Noam Chomsky la:Noam Chomsky lv:Noams Čomskis lb:Noam Chomsky lt:Noam Chomsky jbo:nom.tcomskis hu:Noam Chomsky mk:Ноам Чомски ml:നോം ചോംസ്കി arz:ناعوم تشومسكى ms:Noam Chomsky nl:Noam Chomsky ja:ノーム・チョムスキー no:Noam Chomsky nn:Noam Chomsky oc:Noam Chomsky pnb:نوم چومسکی ps:نوم چومسكي pl:Noam Chomsky pt:Noam Chomsky ro:Noam Chomsky rue:Ноам Чомскі ru:Хомский, Ноам sc:Noam Chomsky sq:Noam Chomsky simple:Noam Chomsky sk:Noam Avram Chomsky cu:Аврамъ Ноамъ Хомьскꙑи sl:Noam Chomsky sr:Ноам Чомски sh:Noam Chomsky su:Noam Chomsky fi:Noam Chomsky sv:Noam Chomsky ta:நோம் சோம்சுக்கி th:โนม ชัมสกี tr:Noam Chomsky uk:Ноам Чомскі vi:Noam Chomsky war:Noam Chomsky yi:נועם כאמסקי yo:Noam Chomsky bat-smg:Noam Chomsky zh:诺姆·乔姆斯基This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
2:50
Jacques Brel Tango Funèbre Funeral Tango English subtitles
VNRose3
Jacques Brel Tango Funèbre Funeral Tango English subtitles
Jacques Brel envisions his hypocritical friends and family at the time of his death and decides to live now. 1964 Dutch performance. Thanks once again to philipchek of Paris and YouTube for his patient and thorough help with this translatio...
15:48
[Audio] Baudrillard: Profusion, from "The Consumer Society"
Nykytyne2
[Audio] Baudrillard: Profusion, from "The Consumer Society"
I wanted to upload this video to my "ContraPoints" channel, but I am not enabled for videos over 15 minutes long on that channel, so I'll upload it here. I'm going to upload some videos of me reading excerpts from philosop...
5:53
Chapter - Pre Menstrual Syndrome (PMS)
chaptersworldtv
Chapter - Pre Menstrual Syndrome (PMS)
Buy Album: itunes.apple.com It's that time of the month again for Erika Dyer and she is psycho on her cycle. Her husband Lonnie has had just about enough of her insane behavior. It seems every month Lonnie' life is turned upside dow...
2:40
cornelis vreeswijk daarom noem ik je liefste in een lied
mariaslide
cornelis vreeswijk daarom noem ik je liefste in een lied
Cornelis Vreeswijk explained in one of his few interviews that he had taught himself to sing and play in the fifties by imitating his first idols Josh White and Leadbelly. His first album, Ballader och oförskämdheter (Ballads and ...
5:14
Noam Chomsky - History of Media - Manufactured Consent
44connected
Noam Chomsky - History of Media - Manufactured Consent
www.facebook.com Noam Chomsky, is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and social activist. He is an Institute Professor and professor emeritus of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Chomsky is well ...
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