World-renowned linguist, political philosopher and best-selling writer Noam Chomsky will be speaking at Binghamton University next week, addressing issues of political peace and social justice. The talk, entitled “Imminent Crises: Paths Toward Solutions,” is expected to attract thousands.

The event, which will be held on Saturday, March 4 at 7 p.m. in the Osterhout Concert Theater in the Anderson Center Auditorium, is being produced collaboratively by Herbert Bix, professor of history and sociology, Andrej Grubacic, geology doctoral student, and many BU student activists.

“The New York Times voted Chomsky the most important public intellectual in the world, and he is arguably the best known critic of U.S. foreign politics and capitalism in the world today,” Grubaciac said. “He is now 77 years old and having him speak at BU is absolutely amazing.”

Chomsky’s appearance at BU will be the first of many anti-war demonstrations that are in the works to commemorate the third anniversary of the Bush administration’s invasion of Iraq.

“Western powers could never abide by their own official definitions of the term [terrorism],” Chomsky said after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. “To do so would at once reveal that the U.S. is a leading terrorist state, as are its clients.”

Grubacic expressed the importance of students attending Chomsky’s speech, regardless of whether or not they agree with Chomsky’s assessment of the current political climate.

“Regardless of your view, Chomsky is the most knowledgeable critic of American domestic and foreign policy,” he said. “He is going to discuss possible solutions, and this affects each and every one of us; our lives.”

According to Grubacic, bringing a speaker of such prestige to BU took more than three years, since Chomsky is usually booked three to four years in advance. He tours the world regularly, and will be returning from an appearance in Ireland before he reaches the BU campus.

In addition to Chomsky’s political involvement, he has taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology since 1995, and has developed a theory of transformational grammar that forever changed the scientific study of language. Transformational linguistics has influenced the field of psycholinguistics, specifically in the study of children’s ability to understand language.

“Wherever Chomsky goes, people come in thousands and I would be very disappointed if the turnout was different at BU,” Grubacic said. “He is a people’s hero all over the world.”

Chomsky’s speech is free and open to the public. For further information, contact Herbert Bix at hbix@binghamton.edu or Andrej Grubacic at zapta@binghamton.edu.