Friday, July 25, 2014

Great Class Opportunity: A Critical Seminar on the Politics and Possibilities of Engineering

COURSE OFFERING!
ENGR 202E, FALL 2014
ENGINEERING FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE:
A CRITICAL SEMINAR ON THE POLITICS AND POSSIBILITIES OF ENGINEERING
Join us this fall quarter for an innovative new seminar! We’ll ask questions like:
• Is technology political? Who wins when a dam is built and who loses when an engineer designs a robot?
• What is the relationship between engineering, technology, society, ecology, and health?
• How can engineers work for social justice at the drawing boat and in their daily lives?
• Who do we engineer for? Who defines the problems we solve? Whose work is considered engineering?
• Why are women and people of color still so underrepresented in engineering classrooms?

These questions and discussions of the context of the engineering discipline and the values undergirding the work of engineers is notably absent from most skill-focused engineering curricula. This seminar is intended to fill this gap by creating a space to reflect on the impact of engineers and technologies on society and to imagine a new kind of engineering and technological development for the common good.

The course is open to all levels and all majors, including non-engineers. Freshmen and sophomores considering engineering but with reservations are strongly encouraged to enroll. There are no prerequisites other than a desire to learn about the subject and participate actively in class. Course assignments will include readings, reflections, and conceptual designs.

Want to connect engineering and social justice?
Email Brian Park (bpark92@uw.edu) for more info!
ENGR 202 E | SLN#: 14250
Grading: 2 Credits | Credit/No Credit
Time: Tuesday, 2:30-4:20 pm | Room: Lowe 118
Facilitators: Brian Park and Eze Klarnet |