Engineering and Social Justice

by Baillie, Caroline; Pawley, Alice L.; Riley, Donna

• ISBN13: 9781557536068
• ISBN10: 1557536066
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-12-15
• Publisher: Purdue Univ Pr

Summary

An increasing number of researchers and educators in the field of engineering wish to integrate considerations of social justice into their work and practice. In this volume, an international team of authors, from a range of disciplinary backgrounds, invite scholars to think and teach in new ways that acknowledge the social, as well as technical, impact engineering can have on our world and that open possibilities for social justice movements to help shape engineering and technology. The book examines three areas of an engineering academic's professional role: teaching, research, and community engagement. The contributors take a broad social and ecological justice perspective to critique existing practices and explore alternatives. The result is a handbook for all scholars of engineering who think beyond the technical elements of their field, and an essential reader for anyone who believes in the transformative power of the discipline.

Author Biography

Alice L. Pawley is an assistant professor in the School of Engineering Education and an affiliate faculty member in the Women's Studies Program at Purdue University. Donna Riley is Associate Professor and a founding faculty member in the Picker Engineering Program at Smith College, the first accredited engineering program at a U.S. women's college.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. vii
Reflections on engineering and social justice in teaching, learning, and research
Introduction	p. 1
In the university and beyond
Teaching and learning: Bringing social justice into the engineering classroom
Developing human-centered design practices and perspectives through service-learning	p. 11
An ethnographic study of social justice themes in engineering education	p. 31
Research: Developing projects and. outcomes that promote social justice
What counts as "engineering": Toward a redefinition	p. 59
Waste for life: Socially just materials research	p. 87
Turbulent fluid mechanics, high speed weapons, and the story of the Earth	p. 107
Engagement: Serving local and global communities
Community colleges, engineering, and social justice	p. 123
Low socioeconomic status individuals: An invisible minority in engineering	p. 143
Viewing access and persistence in engineering through a socioeconomic lens	p. 157
An alternative tour of Ford Hall: Service toward education and transformation	p. 181
Index	p. 201
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