The Polarities of Liberal Engineering...Vest CM (2005) Educating engineers for 2020 and beyond. In...
1
Volume 1 • Issue 3 • 1000e110 J Archit Eng Tech ISSN: 2168-9717 JAET, an open access journal Open Access Editorial Hedges, J Archit Eng Tech 201 , : http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2168-9717.1000e110 Architectural Engineering Technology e engineering accreditation board [1], a lead disciplinary society [2,3], and the national licensure society [4] have recognized that an appropriate response to the pressing issues confronting engineering education is to advance the notions of a liberal education. Some critical issues are the pace of technological change, the social contextualization, and acquiring a systems perspective in the profession. e National Academy of Sciences specifically recommends the promotion of the humanities and social sciences in engineering education [5]. However, this charge is not a consensus among engineers and is “a continuous and sometimes contentious debate about the role of liberal studies (humanistic and social science courses) in preparing the professional engineer” [5]. Figure 1 illustrates a divergent point and counterpoint regarding the development of liberal topics in an undergraduate engineering education. “Engineering is one of the most practical of the professions; the engineer and his clients are immediately confronted with the very tangible results of his practice. is very direct functionalism is one of the most attractive things about the profession, but it may also explain why engineers have so long neglected studies of long-range value and of great eventual functional importance” [6]. e engineer’s accountability is under instantaneous scrutiny when failure occurs. e most common disasters in the public domain fall within the disciplinary knowledge areas such as the undiscovered effects of aeroelastic fluttering [7] or quartering winds [8] associated with the Tacoma Narrows bridge collapse and the Citicorp building, respectively. e engineer is predisposed to this liability and is encouraged to pursue a critical depth of knowledge. Since there are a finite number of credits in an undergraduate curriculum, core subject areas within the discipline would best serve the engineering students rather than engaging in the soſt skills. Charles Vest noted, “Don’t be tempered to crowd the humanities, arts, and social sciences out of the curriculum. e integral role of these subjects in U.S. engineering education differentiates us from much of the rest of the world. I believe the humanities, arts, and social sciences are essential to the creative, explorative, open-minded environment and spirit necessary to educate the engineer of 2020” [9]. Although the time contracted issues central to engineering design are of critical importance, the engineering society sees a need for a body of knowledge that longitudinally forecasts in a manner that responds to the broader and interdependent concerns. Some call for a liberal arts degree prior *Corresponding author: Keith E. Hedges, Hammons School of Architecture, Drury University, 900 N. Benton Avenue, Springfield, MO 65802, USA, Tel: 417- 873-7563; Fax: 417-873-7821; E-mail: [email protected] Received December 14, 2012; Accepted December 14, 2012; Published December 15, 2012 Citation: Hedges KE (201 ) The Polarities of Liberal Engineering. J Archit Eng Tech 2:e110. doi:10.4172/2168-9717.1000e110 Copyright: © 2013 Hedges KE . This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. The Polarities of Liberal Engineering Keith E. Hedges* Hammons School of Architecture, Drury University, 900 N. Benton Avenue, Springfield, MO 65802, USA to entering engineering programs [10], while others suggest adding one year to the education standard [2]. Seely [11] cites a historically relevant observation from Wickenden [12] as a possible resolution, “A broader grounding in its principles and methods, and a more general postponement of specialized training to the graduate schools and to the stage of introductory experience which marks the transition to active life” [11]. is issue is more than a century old. References 1. ABET Engineering Accreditation Commission (2012) 2013-2014 Criteria for accrediting engineering programs. Baltimore, MD: ABET. 2. Committee on Academic Prerequisites for Professional Practice (2007) ASCE policy statement 465: Academic prerequisites for licensure and professional practice. Reston, VA: ASCE. 3. Committee on Academic Prerequisites for Professional Practice (2007) Key points about ASCE Policy Statement 465. Reston, VA: ASCE. 4. National Society of Professional Engineers (2010) NSPE position statement no. 1752-Engineering education outcomes. 5. National Academy of Sciences (2005) Educating the engineer of 2020: Adapting education to the new century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. 6. Sawyer HA (1951) Humanities for engineering students. The Journal of Higher Education 22: 470-475. 7. Larsen A, Walther JS (1997) Aeroelastic analysis of bridge girder section based on discrete vortex simulations. Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics 67: 253-265. 8. Morgenstern J (1997) The fifty-nine-story crisis. Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice 123: 23-29. 9. Vest CM (2005) Educating engineers for 2020 and beyond. In National Academy of the Sciences (Ed.) Educating the Engineer of 2020: Adapting Education to the New Century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press 160-169. 10. Duderstadt JJ (2009) Engineering for a changing world: A roadmap to the future of engineering practice, research, and education. The Millennium Project. Ann Arbor, MI: The University of Michigan. 11. Seely BE (2005) Patterns in the history of education reform: A brief essay. In National Academy of the Sciences (Ed.) Educating the Engineer of 2020: Adapting Education to the New Century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. 12. Wickenden W (1927) Memo to SPEE Board of Investigation and Coordination. Washington, DC: ASEE Archives. A liberal education provides a breadth of knowledge to properly contextualize the problems surrounding a sustainable environment from an interdependent global worldview. The humanities and the social sciences permit the open-ended evaluation of the risk and uncertainty associated with solving complex problems. The matters of literature, philosophy, art, religion, economics, sociology, psychology, history, and political science offer a diverse insight which may have identified longitudinal parameters that bounded engineering inventions such as tetraethyl lead gasoline additives and chlorofluorocarbons. Liberal learning encumbers and expels the more relevant topics connected with a deeper understanding of the technical matters essential to protecting the health, saftey, and welfare of the public, The soft skills of humanities and the social sciences add little value to discovering emergent theoretical and applied material behaviors and technologies. The matters of literature, philosophy, art, region, economics, sociology, psychology, history, and political science would not have prevented the proximate failures such as the Tacoma Narrows bridge collapse, the Citicorp critis, or the space shuttle Challenger disaster. Figure 1: The opposing perspectives of liberal learning in engineering education.
Transcript of The Polarities of Liberal Engineering...Vest CM (2005) Educating engineers for 2020 and beyond. In...
Volume 1 • Issue 3 • 1000e110J Archit Eng TechISSN: 2168-9717 JAET, an open access journal
Open AccessEditorial
Hedges, J Archit Eng Tech 2012, 1:0http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2168-9717.1000e110Architectural Engineering
Technology
The engineering accreditation board [1], a lead disciplinary society [2,3], and the national licensure society [4] have recognized that an appropriate response to the pressing issues confronting engineering education is to advance the notions of a liberal education. Some critical issues are the pace of technological change, the social contextualization, and acquiring a systems perspective in the profession. The National Academy of Sciences specifically recommends the promotion of the humanities and social sciences in engineering education [5]. However, this charge is not a consensus among engineers and is “a continuous and sometimes contentious debate about the role of liberal studies (humanistic and social science courses) in preparing the professional engineer” [5]. Figure 1 illustrates a divergent point and counterpoint regarding the development of liberal topics in an undergraduate engineering education.
“Engineering is one of the most practical of the professions; the engineer and his clients are immediately confronted with the very tangible results of his practice. This very direct functionalism is one of the most attractive things about the profession, but it may also explain why engineers have so long neglected studies of long-range value and of great eventual functional importance” [6]. The engineer’s accountability is under instantaneous scrutiny when failure occurs. The most common disasters in the public domain fall within the disciplinary knowledge areas such as the undiscovered effects of aeroelastic fluttering [7] or quartering winds [8] associated with the Tacoma Narrows bridge collapse and the Citicorp building, respectively. The engineer is predisposed to this liability and is encouraged to pursue a critical depth of knowledge. Since there are a finite number of credits in an undergraduate curriculum, core subject areas within the discipline would best serve the engineering students rather than engaging in the soft skills.
Charles Vest noted, “Don’t be tempered to crowd the humanities, arts, and social sciences out of the curriculum. The integral role of these subjects in U.S. engineering education differentiates us from much of the rest of the world. I believe the humanities, arts, and social sciences are essential to the creative, explorative, open-minded environment and spirit necessary to educate the engineer of 2020” [9]. Although the time contracted issues central to engineering design are of critical importance, the engineering society sees a need for a body of knowledge that longitudinally forecasts in a manner that responds to the broader and interdependent concerns. Some call for a liberal arts degree prior
*Corresponding author: Keith E. Hedges, Hammons School of Architecture, Drury University, 900 N. Benton Avenue, Springfield, MO 65802, USA, Tel: 417-873-7563; Fax: 417-873-7821; E-mail: [email protected]
Received December 14, 2012; Accepted December 14, 2012; Published December 15, 2012
Citation: Hedges KE (2013) The Polarities of Liberal Engineering. J Archit Eng Tech 2:e110. doi:10.4172/2168-9717.1000e110
Copyright: © 2013 Hedges KE . This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
The Polarities of Liberal EngineeringKeith E. Hedges*Hammons School of Architecture, Drury University, 900 N. Benton Avenue, Springfield, MO 65802, USA
to entering engineering programs [10], while others suggest adding one year to the education standard [2]. Seely [11] cites a historically relevant observation from Wickenden [12] as a possible resolution, “A broader grounding in its principles and methods, and a more general postponement of specialized training to the graduate schools and to the stage of introductory experience which marks the transition to active life” [11]. This issue is more than a century old.
References
1. ABET Engineering Accreditation Commission (2012) 2013-2014 Criteria for accrediting engineering programs. Baltimore, MD: ABET.
2. Committee on Academic Prerequisites for Professional Practice (2007) ASCE policy statement 465: Academic prerequisites for licensure and professional practice. Reston, VA: ASCE.
3. Committee on Academic Prerequisites for Professional Practice (2007) Key points about ASCE Policy Statement 465. Reston, VA: ASCE.
4. National Society of Professional Engineers (2010) NSPE position statement no. 1752-Engineering education outcomes.
5. National Academy of Sciences (2005) Educating the engineer of 2020: Adapting education to the new century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
6. Sawyer HA (1951) Humanities for engineering students. The Journal of Higher Education 22: 470-475.
7. Larsen A, Walther JS (1997) Aeroelastic analysis of bridge girder section based on discrete vortex simulations. Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics 67: 253-265.
8. Morgenstern J (1997) The fifty-nine-story crisis. Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice 123: 23-29.
9. Vest CM (2005) Educating engineers for 2020 and beyond. In National Academy of the Sciences (Ed.) Educating the Engineer of 2020: Adapting Education to the New Century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press 160-169.
10. Duderstadt JJ (2009) Engineering for a changing world: A roadmap to the future of engineering practice, research, and education. The Millennium Project. Ann Arbor, MI: The University of Michigan.
11. Seely BE (2005) Patterns in the history of education reform: A brief essay. In National Academy of the Sciences (Ed.) Educating the Engineer of 2020: Adapting Education to the New Century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
12. Wickenden W (1927) Memo to SPEE Board of Investigation and Coordination. Washington, DC: ASEE Archives.
A liberal education provides a breadth of knowledge toproperly contextualize the problems surrounding asustainable environment from an interdependentglobal worldview. The humanities and the socialsciences permit the open-ended evaluation of the riskand uncertainty associated with solving complexproblems. The matters of literature, philosophy, art,religion, economics, sociology, psychology, history, andpolitical science offer a diverse insight which may haveidentified longitudinal parameters that boundedengineering inventions such as tetraethyl lead gasolineadditives and chlorofluorocarbons.
Liberal learning encumbers and expels the morerelevant topics connected with a deeper understanding
of the technical matters essential to protecting thehealth, saftey, and welfare of the public, The soft skills
of humanities and the social sciences add little value todiscovering emergent theoretical and applied materialbehaviors and technologies. The matters of literature,
philosophy, art, region, economics, sociology,psychology, history, and political science would not
have prevented the proximate failures such as theTacoma Narrows bridge collapse, the Citicorp critis, or
the space shuttle Challenger disaster.
Figure 1: The opposing perspectives of liberal learning in engineering education.
