"One organizing principle of this collection is that student writers often do better work when their readings reflect their special interests." So begins The World of Science: An Anthology for Writers . If the assertion is true, why should not aspiring engineers be invited, early and often, to write about technology, engineers and inventors, and the heroes, heroines (yes, even here !) and villains and scapegoats of this arena of human endeavor. This anthology by Leithauser and Bell was created as a source book for writers(emphasis added), yet their motivation exactly suits our purpose in restructuring first-year engineering education. Why shouldn’t we use a very broad collection of strong prose, poetry, and even art to offer "insights and ideas that students may not realize they lack, " in order to "introduce readers to both tradition and controversy.", and thereby provide a definition of the engineering profession.
Kuhn lamented that "There are no collections of "readings" in the natural sciences", and a consequence is the monolithic view, single voice approach of the standard student textbook . This circumstance motivated Leithauser and Bell to produce The World of Science, and Bowen and Scheller their Writing About Science , in order to develop such collections for writers and scientists. We should do the same for engineers.
What educational product might result? Consider the stereotypes: "Writers labor at the forge of language to create the consciousness of the race; scientists wear white lab coats and record even columns of numbers on graph paper." To conclude, Bowen and Scheller could have added "Engineers carry calculators and operate factories which produce pollution." How do we stop this nonsense? How do we produce more Samuel Flormans and Henry Petroskis who write with such grace? How do we make engineers such as Billington, Mark, Florman, Petroski, et al into the writers whose acknowledged "labor at the forge of language" can be used to create an engineering consciousness in students?
Readings are needed, yet Kuhn’s complaint remains utterly accurate for engineering and technology. It is not possible to order from the bookstore the Norton Guide to the Literature of Engineering and Technology. No Great Books of Engineering course appears in any university catalog . A Survey of Thought in Western Engineering is conspicuous by its absence from first year experiences. Where does the adventuresome instructor turn to provide readings about engineering to first year aspirants?
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