Noam Chomsky doctorate and lecture

Today's big event on campus was that the great linguist and political thinker Noam Chomsky was there to pick up an honorary doctorate and to give a public lecture. He seemed sprightly at 81. His lecture was entitled "Contours of World Order: Continuities and Change." He spoke intelligently from a carefully prepared manuscript, with a calm voice, even though some of what he said was controversial.

Afterwards, there was a question and answer-period led by a Chinese-born Harvard professor, who collected questions in writing from the audience. A large group of student voluntaries collected the questions from the audience and brought them up on stage. The first question contrasted the Chinese admiral Zheng He, who explored in the Indian Ocean in the early fifteenth century, with Christopher Columbus. While the latter followed colonial instincts that would lead to much violence, Zheng's expeditions were (by and large) peaceful and did not pursue colonialism.





More than 2000 people, mostly students, had come to listen.



It was a beautiful auditorium, but - alas - the seats were not constructed for anyone of a height that in Sweden is considered rather normal. I was definitely squeezed in, which in the end was very painful. Thus, I left when the question period began (although the questions I heard were unusually good for such circumstances).


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