Toward a Global Engineering Curriculum

Abstract

This paper distinguishes between Globalism as theory and Globalization as practice. I accept the existence and importance of the globalization process but aim to critique the resulting structure from a theoretical Globalism point of view. The specific theory I will emphasize is Critical Theory which arises from the Frankfurt School of philosophical deliberation. The question becomes how can the Critical Theory of globalism help to bring the liberation of globalization to all of humankind? The role of engineering in the rise of global structures is key to my concerns. Different kinds of engineering yield different ways of being global. I distinguish between Standard Engineering and Focal Engineering and the different kinds of engineering ethics arising from each of these. Then I conclude by offering a possible Global Engineering curriculum, unlike the traditional EE, ME, CE, etc. curricula, which addresses issues arising from a globalized world, issues like global warming and fossil fuel dependency. Such a curriculum will keep a solid first 2 years that will be similar to existing engineering curricula but incorporating a small subset of global ideas. Then the upper-division will be where the differences dominate, focusing on real global problems like world hunger and environmental destruction. The upper-division will be steeped in ethics, an engineering ethics program that introduces process ethics (the ethics of the process, which stems largely from Kantian Deontology and Utilitarianism), virtue ethics (the ethics of the person), and material ethics (the ethics of the product). A systems approach will also be emphasized in this curriculum. Finally Focal Engineering will provide the ethos, the characteristic spirit of the global engineering culture.