Noam Chomsky speaks at UTSC on Academic Freedom and the Corporatization of Universities.

Noam Chomsky is one of America's leading scholars and intellectuals. A prolific author, lecturer, and activist, Chomsky is currently an Institute Professor in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

• Category

  Education

[MrDarkbloom]

Chomsky's on at 7:19

[Minnowonsay]

Excellent talk. As a British sort-of-socialist I am devastated that my daughter will be in £40,000 debt if she goes to any good University. Freedom of thought and equality of education for all and being debt free are very important for our youth. But re, the Arts and Humanities Council being expected to follow Government policy: once a government is democratically elected, is government policy political intervention or just the way the government have decided how their money should be spent?

[Andrew Lautin]

I cannot listen to this unquestioned scholar without the ongoing though that professor Chomsky's work in linguistics strongly privileges a biological priority. That is to say ab initio, a priori there are (generative) structures. Lets me say this more concretely - there is (are) anatomies. That is to say prior anatomies. Yet not once is such a sensitivity even gestured to in professor Chomsky's political/social philosophy.

[psbarrow]

I think you've misunderstood her point. It wasn't an epistemological claim, but a comment on academics, specifically Skinner - he refused to discuss her question, but he was "being true to his beliefs, he believed what he was saying was true" so her point was that was presented as "truth" could be "packaged, and altered, ignored, and even repressed" even in universities.

[pokeyouindaeye]

In the intro, the Prof. states that truth is relative... this statement is an oxymoron. She is attributing a positive truth-value to the statement she just made, which is that there is no truth. Therefore she's proven herself wrong, in a meta-analysis of the statement.

It's like telling a robot that you're lying to them right now, the shit does not compute. (see "Capt. Kirk talks a robot to death.")

[troglodyto]

thank you! what a gigantic introduction lol.

[Leosbel Jimenez]

DIFERENTE

[Sha V.]

It's an honor to have him speak at my school.

[troglodyto]

who's the speaker? can anyone please let me know?

[nelrish24]

waw

[MenOfLetters]

Chomsky is the hero-mind of our age. Simply matchless.

[theironcage09]

Thank you so much for this!! Also to alternet and other sites that have been posting excerpts from this talk.

The point Chomsky made relating US privatization of higher ed, (outlandish inflation of tuition, students leaving school with massive debt) and the IMF was a frightening if potent one. I am sharing this with my students.

I would love a full transcript. Is one available?

Thank you again.

Amy