Engineering Studies
Since the early 2000s, A set of networks have coalesced under theumbrella of “engineering studies” to investigate the roles of engineers in science, technology, and medicine. The CHSTM working group forwards this development with a specific focus on historical questions in a forum for early stage work. Engineering studies is a small but growing group of historians, anthropologists, sociologists, engineering educators, and other science and technology studies scholars, who center engineers and engineering as their subjects of analysis. The purpose of this working group is to promote historical research on engineering in the context of the Consortium for the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine by: building a vibrant community via regular meetings with low barriers to participation; sharing work in progress among historians and other engineering studies scholars; and clarifying the role of engineering studies in the history of science, technology, and medicine.
Upcoming Meetings
Please set your timezone at https://www.chstm.org/user
Consortium Respectful Behavior Policy
Participants at Consortium activities will treat each other with respect and consideration to create a collegial, inclusive, and professional environment that is free from any form of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation.
Participants will avoid any inappropriate actions or statements based on individual characteristics such as age, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, nationality, political affiliation, ability status, educational background, or any other characteristic protected by law. Disruptive or harassing behavior of any kind will not be tolerated. Harassment includes but is not limited to inappropriate or intimidating behavior and language, unwelcome jokes or comments, unwanted touching or attention, offensive images, photography without permission, and stalking.
Participants may send reports or concerns about violations of this policy to conduct@chstm.org.
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Friday, March 19, 2021 10:00 am to 11:30 am EDT
Dean Chahim, PhD Candidate in Anthropology, Stanford University (United States): "'A Permanent Bloodletting': Engineering, Risk, and the Drainage of Mexico City, 1947-1975.".
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Thursday, April 15, 2021 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm EDT
Sangwoon Yoo, Assistant Professor, Hanbat National University, Korea, "Self-defining Waste: Cleanroom Operators and Maintainers in the Semiconductor Industry in South Korea in the 1980s-2000s."
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Friday, May 21, 2021 10:00 am to 11:30 am EDT
TBA
Past Meetings
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February 19, 2021
First panel discussion, “Situating Engineering Studies within History of Science, Technology, and Medicine,” with:- Cyrus Mody, Professor in the History of Science, Technology, and Innovation, Maastricht University (Netherlands)
- Trisha Tschopp, PhD Candidate in History and Science Studies, University of California San Diego (United States)
- Heidi Voskuhl, Associate Professor and Graduate Chair, History and Sociology of Science, University of Pennsylvania (United States)
In the growing field of engineering studies, historians, anthropologists, sociologists, engineering educators, and other science and technology studies scholars center engineers and engineering as their subjects of analysis. This inaugural session of the Engineering Studies working group asks where such scholarship fits in the history of science, technology, and medicine. Via a panel discussion and community conversation we will explore the internationalization of engineering studies, its disciplinary boundary crossings, its emerging trends, and its future directions.
Group Conveners
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Ross Bassett
Ross Bassett is a professor of history at North Carolina State University. He is the author of The Technological Indian (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2016) and To the Digital Age (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002). He has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Penn and worked at IBM before earning his Ph.D. in history from Princeton. He is currently working on the connections between the American and French engineering education systems in the post-World War II era.
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Ryan Hearty
Ryan Hearty completed his M.A. in history of science and technology in 2019 at Johns Hopkins University, where he is pursuing his Ph.D. and writing a dissertation on the origins and development of environmental engineering in the United States. He previously worked on the radio communications for Parker Solar Probe at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory and has a masterʼs degree in electrical engineering.
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Matt Wisnioski
Matthew Wisnioski is associate professor of science, technology, and society at Virginia Tech. He is the author of Engineers for Change (MIT Press, 2012) and co-editor of Does America Need More Innovators? (MIT Press, 2019). He is co-editor of MIT Pressʼs Engineering Studies series and chair of the board of the journal Engineering Studies. He has also written extensively on the intersections of art, science, and engineering. He earned his B.S. in materials science and engineering from Johns Hopkins University and his Ph.D. in history from Princeton University. He is currently writing a book on the rise of innovation culture from World War II to the present.