Noam Chomsky’s influential 1967 essay ‘The Responsibility of Intellectuals’ crystalised and influenced a generation’s approach to research, teaching and public intervention. Citing a responsibility to ‘speak the truth and expose lies’, it is still referenced in impassioned essays worldwide.
Chomsky is regarded as the father of modern linguistics, one of the most cited living authors, and by The New Yorker as ‘one of the greatest minds of the twentieth century’. With Chomsky approaching his 100th birthday, now is an apt time to revisit his context, approach and conclusions.
Noting radical changes in geopolitics, culture, demography, media and information availability in the subsequent six decades, this event will make a refreshed case for how researchers, educators and public communicators can now aim to make a positive mark on humanity and the world.
It will argue that we have long focused on intellectual innovation: explanations, theories, models, frameworks, which culminate in a gold standard: an academic publication. In reality, we already have plentiful knowledge, evidence and peer-reviewed research, much of which regrettably has little real-world impact.
It will instead propose that what is now needed most is a decisive pivot: to organisational innovation. Providing clear examples, particularly from the specialism of history, the aim is to produce actionable steps which participants can pick up and use straight away.
