Noam Chomsky Must Be A Big Deal

While looking at the Tuesday edition of the Missourian, I found it interesting that one man, Noam Chomsky, would have two different articles written about his visit to Columbia, Missouri. This may sound dumb, like I have been living under a rock or something, but who exactly is Noam Chomsky? After reading Debrin Foxcroft's article about Chomsky's lecture at Ellis auditorium, I got the impression that Chomsky was some kind of linguistics expert, and that he studies languages. In the story on the front page of the Missourian, written by Sean Sposito, it says Chomsky is a professor and social activist, and that he gave a "Peace Perspectives Lecture" at the Missouri Theatre. It seems that he gave a speech talking about current political events in the United States. All in all, I was very confused. What exactly is Noam Chomsky an expert in?

I understand that he can be a very knowledgeable person on both subjects, and he most likely is. But the way the Missourian painted this man was confusing to me. Foxcroft's article on the back page says that Chomsky's "first love" is linguistics, yet he did a whole big speech on politics. A "biography box" on the front page says Chomsky is a linguistics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but that leaves me wondering why he is lecturing on politics. It says that he has controversial positions on the Middle East and U.S. foreign policy, but that doesn't really validate him as an expert in the field.

All in all the coverage of this man coming to Columbia seemed a little misleading. From the front page article I thought he was some sort of political scientist, from the article on the back page, I discover he is a linguistics professor. I think the Missourian could have done a better job of being more clear and explaining why this guys opinions on the War in Iraq and U.S. foreign policy are so important, and why I should listen to them. Because to me, it seems like he is simply a linguistics professor, and should stick to lecturing on that topic.

Publish Date: February 28 in the Missourian.