2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

What is the purpose of engineering? Who does engineering? Who is engineering done for? As engineering is increasingly associated with cutting edge technology and innovative advances in complex and/or large scale systems, these are questions that merit reflection. These trends tend to disproportionately benefit those in wealthy sectors of society. Simultaneously, those with the least economic wealth are often negatively impacted. But, engineering doesn’t have to continue along this path. It is instructive to reflect on the fact that engineering encompasses technologies and designs that have served much of the human population for ages. Engineering to meet basic human needs, such as working with the natural world toward sustainable food gathering practices, building homes and infrastructure, maintaining health, expressing humanity through the arts, and experiencing joy has been a major trend throughout human history. At the same time, engineering has also been used for destructive purposes, including the development of tools and processes that subjugate and inflict violence upon humans, other living things, and the environment. A critical juncture in the path that engineering has taken occurred during the 2nd Western Industrial Revolution from the mid 1800’s to the early 1900’s. During this time, enterprises for capitalist accumulation of wealth and power came to dominate the field of engineering and engineers became wedded to the interests of corporate capitalism. Today the legacy of this shift persists. While there continue to be engineers organizing and pursuing engineering for the wellbeing of humanity and the planet, pathways towards this work within our larger systems of engineering training and practice are unclear and involve higher levels of personal risk.

Our aim is to develop a vision of engineering that seeks to meet the needs of the planet and its inhabitants. Critical to this vision is the embrace of practices that center the participation of all people, particularly those from historically marginalized groups. The process of doing so must be authentic and inclusive. Using a framework of Solidarity Engineering, this paper lays out the authors’ process of critical reflection on the dominant practices and structures that need to change in engineering education and the engineering profession. As engineering education faculty, students, and support practitioners, we are engaging in a collaborative inquiry methodology to examine engineering education programs, recruitment, and curricula, and engineering career pathways to identify key practices that hinder learning about and working towards Solidarity Engineering. This work-in-progress presents a broad outline of work we are undertaking to explore what we call the “re-engineering” of both engineering education and of potential career pathways. Through our work, we hope to identify a broad set of solidarity-focused examples and methods. Further, we hope this paper inspires a larger conversation about how the engineering profession can reframe its ways of engaging within the world to promote a movement toward Solidarity Engineering that contributes to an ethic of care, love, equity, and justice among people and planet.