I originally wanted to do research about Engineering in Brazil, however I had a very difficult time finding information about this topic. When attempting to narrow down the topice I also had difficulty deciding what aspect I wanted to focus on. As a result I decided to pick another country that would allow for more available research. That is how I landed on China.
Through previous classes I have studied a small amount about China and its in depth history. In comparison to any other country, China’s history is extremely different due to its relationships with neighboring and European countries. Between its European influence, massive immigrations out of the country to seek refuge beginning in 1600‘s and multiple dictatorships, the history of the Chinese people includes many outside influences. Even though these factors have had enormous impact on the country, China is still one of the few countries that carries a strong sense of nationalism and national identity that has stayed evident throughout time.
With this brief knowledge of the countries history it made me wonder how it impacted on societal positions of professions, such as engineering, and the education that leads to this position. Currently my main topics of my paper will include the history of country and how it corresponds to the development of education within a technical field, especially engineering. In addition, how this education has progressed and what social representation it creates for that individual. The next point will focus on the mass immigrations out of the country and how this affected the work force by population decrease, influence of the government and other external factors. The last part of my paper will be dedicated to the equality of the field between gender roles. When and if women were introduce to this technical field, what obstacles they have had to overcome and how their social role in society affects their ability to obtain this particular profession.
From what I have currently researched the the entrepreneurial talent has been incorporated into business activities to create wealth and establish an economy boom. Within China entrepreneurs are classified into three dominant groups: “Peasants-turned entrepreneurs; officials-turned entrepreneurs; and overseas-returned and engineers-turned entrepreneurs” (Zhang 178). In combination with the rise of all three of these engineers and the “replacement of position-based rights with property-based rights,” the Chinese economy has become the most stable it has been in decades.
The questions I am searching for feedback is if my topic is too board or if I am incorporating to many topics? Should I focus more in depth on one of the mentioned topics above or incorporate them all in hopes it makes a more comprehensible report. I still I am working on a specific thesis, and I believe that having so many topics is what is giving me difficulty. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
All these ideas are great for potential research topics! I almost feel like it would be enough to just focus your paper on the three dominant groups of entrepreneurs in China. It would be great to hear about the hierarchy of the three groups; also, which group has contributed most in the engineering world, who is most/ least respected in the social/ engineering world. Another potential question is how does this tier of entrepreneurs compare to initial roles of engineers in China? What influenced engineers to be classified as entrepreneurs? How exactly have they helped China’s economic stability?
ReplyDeleteAnother idea that would be interesting is that of immigration, population decrease and its influence on the workforce. You might be able to research engineering advancements by Chinese immigrants in other countries. Which social class has the most immigrants out of China? By learning which social class has the most immigrants and researching which professions that class usually holds, you will then be able to see which work force has been most affected and in what way.
I think each of those to ideas individually will be enough to do you research on and will make for a very interesting and informative project.
Jenny, you raise so many good questions. First, in regard to Brazil (although I suppose I cannot responsibly suggest a topic change at this point!), one of the things that is most interesting to me about Brazil (in terms of this class) is a) the discourse of "engineer shortage" combined with b) emerging relationships with countries in the EU. For example, as part of our Norway trip & research last year, we learned that Brazil is heavily collaborating with Norwegian engineers to develop its deep sea oil platforms. The Norwegian people with whom we spoke about this saw lots of similarities between how Brazil plans to use the oil money and how it is used in Norway - that is, to fund comparatively very generous state benefits for its population. (This is quite different, for example, from how the U.S. or Russia have used oil wealth.)
ReplyDeleteIn regards to China, so many possible directions! I would strongly encourage you to narrow your topic, as possible. For example, do you want to focus on a particular time period? One of the classic discussions about China and technology focuses on their early development of what we call gun powder, which they used for fireworks.
Another possible topic is what role did engineers play in Communist China (although that is still quite broad)? I ask, b/c as we will be learning later in the quarter, Soviet engineers formed the basis of that countries government. However, these engineers were trained quite different from the state-engineers of France - Soviet engineers had incredibly narrow specializations (such as "ball bearings for paper mills"). Or, you could segment this time period, looking, perhaps, at the different roles engineers are now playing at China combines communism with capitalism.
Another potential topic might be focused on large-scale engineering projects in China. I am thinking in particular of the controversy related to the Three Gorges dam project.
Another potential slice might focus on the relationship between Confucianism and Chinese engineering.
Finally, you might, instead, choose the gender/sex slice, or, as Roger has discussed in our class, the creation of new "cities of technology" in contemporary China.