The Engineer in History: Difference between revisions
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== Preface == | |||
The Engineer in History (HPS283) is a humanities elective taught by [[The Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology (IHPST)]] at [[University of Toronto]]. This course will present an extended personal argument that engineers in the modern world are the most important social category of the modern world in ways that go well beyond the fact that they make things and solve technical puzzles. A look at the history of the profession will be used to support this argument. Examining the role engineers have played in history up to and including the present will illuminate the complex links that exist between technology and society. Topics that will be discussed will include the birth of engineering as a profession, conceptions of society that have been moulded or influenced by engineers, the image that society has had of them, and their place in the social structure. Although the course will also deal with issues that are relevant to the contemporary world, the approach will be historical because without knowing something of the historical background the discussion of social issues in engineering often degenerates into vague generalizations. The social history of engineering not only permits engineering students to get a better knowledge of their own profession but also gives new insights about the society in which their forbears have worked and in which they will have to work as well. Like society itself engineering has been changing and always will be changing. If our consciousness of the changing nature of engineering is sharpened, we will be better equipped to deal with the changes in our profession and the societies in which it exists in order to deal with the increasingly important challenges of the future. | |||
The contents presented are delivered verbally by Mr. Janis Langins, on his last year as professor before his retirement. He is also the author of [https://mitpress.mit.edu/authors/janis-langins ''Conserving the Enlightenment, French Military Engineering from Vauban to the Revolution''] published by MIT Press. | |||
Lecture 1 – Occurred on Jan 7/2014 | Lecture 1 – Occurred on Jan 7/2014 | ||
Vision of Course | Vision of Course | ||