Students, staff and residents from all around Maine packed Pickard Theater on Thursday evening for a lecture by Noam Chomsky entitled “The Democratic Experiment: Its State, Its Prospects.”
Crowds of students who arrived just before the talk’s 7 p.m. start time were turned away, as the theater had already reached its capacity. Those who were able to listen expressed satisfaction with Chomsky’s presentation.
“His mind is so sharp and his analysis is so on point,” said Victoria Pitaktong ’17.
Regarded as the “father of modern linguistics,” Chomsky specializes in language and its relation to society. He has authored more than 100 books in subjects such as politics, linguistics and philosophy. He is best known for his theory of transformational or universal grammar, which postulates the propensity to use languages is innate and the Chomsky Hierarchy, a system of dividing grammar based on expressive abilities. He is currently a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
On Thursday night, Chomsky addressed the history and future of democracy in the United States and around the world. He argued that the influence of money in politics degrades American democracy. Responding to a question from the audience, he suggested that the current European refugee crisis is really a crisis of morality.
Many students connected Chomsky’s talk to broader issues of U.S. politics and the upcoming election.
“I think everything he pointed out on local government and starting from the ground up is something that Bernie [Sanders] has been trying to do for a long time,” said Danny Castro ’17.
The event was sponsored by the Student Center for Multicultural Life, Student Activities, the John C. Donovan Lecture Fund, Department of Government and Legal Studies, the McKeen Center for the Common Good and Bowdoin Political Union.
Alex Mayer contributed to this report.