Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, political activist, and social critic. Chomsky is also a major figure in analytic philosophy and one of the founders of the field of cognitive science. He holds a joint appointment as Institute Professor Emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and laureate professor at the University of Arizona, and is the author of over 100 books on topics such as linguistics, war, politics, and mass media.