Course Description
The history of the engineering profession, from antiquity to the present. Focuses in particular on the development of engineering in the last two centuries in the United States, particularly the central role that engineers have played in technological innovations that define the modern era.
Athena Title
History of Engineering
Prerequisite
Any HIST course or ENGL 1101 or ENGL 1101E or ENGL 1101S or ENGL 1102 or ENGL 1102E or ENGL 1102S or POLS 1101 or POLS 1101E or POLS 1101H or POLS 1101S
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student learning Outcomes
- By the end of this course, students will be able to arrive at conclusions about the history of engineering by gathering and weighing evidence, logical argument, and listening to counter argument.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to write stylistically appropriate papers and essays. Students will be able to analyze ideas and evidence, organize their thoughts, and revise and edit their finished essays.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to identify how the history of engineering shaped diverse social and cultural attitudes toward cities, science, and the notion of progress, encouraging them to understand diverse worldviews and experiences.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to apply appropriate methodological approaches to their analysis of primary sources and to organize their evidence to show historical continuities and discontinuities.
Topical Outline
- Week 1: Engineering in Antiquity
- Week 2: Military Engineers in the Early Modern Era
- Week 3: West Point and the Army Corps of Engineers
- Week 4: Railroads and the First System Builders
- Week 5: The City, Sanitation, and Water
- Week 6: Mechanical Engineers: Shop and School
- Week 7: New Frontiers: Electricity and Automobiles
- Week 8: Taylor, the Gilbreths, and the Drive for Efficiency
- Week 9: Herbert Hoover and the Technocratic Ethos
- Week 10: Engineers and the Taming of Traffic
- Week 11: A New Deal for Engineers
- Week 12: Engineers, the Cold War, and the Space Race
- Week 13: The Computing Revolution: Software and Hardware
- Week 14: Engineering Life: Biotechnology and Genetics
Institutional Competencies Learning Outcomes
Analytical Thinking
The ability to reason, interpret, analyze, and solve problems from a wide array of authentic contexts.
Communication
The ability to effectively develop, express, and exchange ideas in written, oral, interpersonal, or visual form.
Critical Thinking
The ability to pursue and comprehensively evaluate information before accepting or establishing a conclusion, decision, or action.
