The Chomsky Effect A Radical Works Beyond the Ivory Tower

The Chomsky Effect A Radical Works Beyond the Ivory Tower (Barsky 2007)



With this study, Vanderbilt professor Barsky follows up Noam Chomsky: A Life of Dissent, his first expositionary volume on the octogenarian MIT linguist-cum-political writer. It focuses on how Chomsky's political writings-often published in small venues and in reaction to developing events-get disseminated and used throughout the world. The result is an indirect approach to a compelling subject, namely: what are Chomsky's politics, and what broader lessons can be drawn from them? Barsky begins by defining what he calls "The Chomsky Effect," whereby Chomsky's ideas get distorted and argued about in degraded form, whether by bolsterers or naysayers, resulting not only in bad arguments, but in undeserved infamy for Chomsky. He tracks the effect through the academy, the radical left, legal studies, literature and media, and, along the way, provides very lucid commentary on, and summation of, Chomsky's ideas. That said, Barsky, like Chomsky himself, refuses to distill Chomsky's thought to sound bites as he sifts through all the claims and counter-claims. That may prove frustrating for some readers, but it is fully in the spirit of Chomsky's own work.
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Review
"The Chomsky Effect by Robert Barsky is a magnificent book showing Chomsky as the leading linguist of our time; the philosopher whose analytic powers and prophetic vision are unparalleled, yet matched only by his moral and ironic outrage which draws intellectual blood from his adversaries. Barsky's significant accomplishment is to add his deep learning in the history of comparative ideas and popular culture with his own incisive and readable accounts of crucial intellectual and political battles that dictate the present and probable future. A wonderful read."--Marcus Raskin, Co-founder, Institute for Policy Studies, and Professor, School of Public Policy and Administration, George Washington University



Noam Chomsky as political gadfly, groundbreaking scholar, and intellectual guru: key issues in Chomsky's career and the sometimes contentious reception to his ideas.



"People are dangerous. If they're able to involve themselves in issues that matter, they may change the distribution of power, to the detriment of those who are rich and privileged."--Noam ChomskyNoam Chomsky has been praised by the likes of Bono and Hugo Chávez and attacked by the likes of Tom Wolfe and Alan Dershowitz. Groundbreaking linguist and outspoken political dissenter--voted "most important public intellectual in the world today" in a 2005 magazine poll--Chomsky inspires fanatical devotion and fierce vituperation. In The Chomsky Effect, Chomsky biographer Robert Barsky examines Chomsky's positions on a number of highly charged issues--Chomsky's signature issues, including Vietnam, Israel, East Timor, and his work in linguistics---that illustrate not only "the Chomsky effect" but also "the Chomsky approach." Chomsky, writes Barsky, is an inspiration and a catalyst. Not just an analyst or advocate, he encourages people to become engaged--to be "dangerous" and challenge power and privilege. The actions and reactions of Chomsky supporters and detractors and the attending contentiousness can be thought of as "the Chomsky effect." Barsky discusses Chomsky's work in such areas as language studies, media, education, law, and politics, and identifies Chomsky's intellectual and political precursors. He charts anti-Chomsky sentiments as expressed from various standpoints, including contemporary Zionism, mainstream politics, and scholarly communities. He discusses Chomsky's popular appeal--his unlikely status as a punk and rock hero (Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam is one of many rock and roll Chomskyites)--and offers in-depth analyses of the controversies surrounding Chomsky's roles in the "Faurisson Affair" and the "Pol Pot Affair." Finally, Barsky considers the role of the public intellectual in order to assess why Noam Chomsky has come to mean so much to so many--and what he may mean to generations to come.Robert F. Barsky is Professor of English, Comparative Literature, French, and Jewish Studies at Vanderbilt University. He is the author of Noam Chomsky: A Life of Dissent (MIT Press), Constructing a Productive Other, Introduction à la théorie littéraire, and Arguing and Justifying. He is currently completing a book on Zellig Harris, for The MIT Press.



"Barsky does a spectacular job of offering an essential introduction to Chomsky's works." Shih-Yu Chou Political Studies Review



"Robert Barsky succeeds in uniting the various strands in Chomsky"s career teaching, political theory, philosophy, and public debate. Chomsky"s success constitutes definitive proof that an intellectual can be an activist and that every society needs a Socrates to shame it. Barsky has produced a work of homage to learning and to personal courage."Julius H. Grey , Constitutional lawyer, former member of McGill Faculty of Law



"The insights into Chomsky as a person, notably in the many extracts from his correspondence and remarks by friends and colleagues, are fascinating." Raphael Salkie Times Higher Education Supplement



"This book should be read by anyone interested in the existing or potential role for public intellectuals in American societyand in politics, particularly." Richard C. Collins Virginia Quarterly Review

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Product Details
Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: The MIT Press (September 18, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0262513161
ISBN-13: 978-0262513166