Reading Response #2-- Hierarchies in STEM

Reading Response #2

Mariel Emanuel

ES:410

In the piece “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” authors Bilimoria & Stewart discuss some of the experiences of members of the LGBT community in STEM fields. I think this piece is very interesting because it highlights some of the consequences of lack of diversity within STEM fields. In the study they found that queers students generally “felt invisible both in science contexts and in queer discourses (which often ignore science)” (Bilimoria & Stewart). This is an interesting case that deserves to be looked at because it demonstrates how the lack of intersection of diverse discourses is creating hierarchies of information and affecting the STEM knowledge being produced.

Throughout the formation of STEM fields certain types of knowledge have been prioritized and valued over others. In turn we see the subtle implementation of hierarchies within the STEM fields. This is a problem because not surprisingly the STEM perspective is usually viewed as more important than the humanitarian perspective within the STEM paradigm. This ranking of knowledge is negatively affecting the information/products being produced because it is inevitably separating one type of knowledge from the other when in fact the most beneficial way to approach issues would involve the implementation of an assortment of perspectives.

Our society far too often views human as separate from technology when in reality the two are completely interconnected and the two perspectives should never be evaluated without the other alongside. Same idea applies to the separation of STEM fields from humanities. Putting the two at odds with each other furthers hierarchies and hinders citizens from recognizing the connection between the two fields.

In Faulkner’s piece she calls out STEM for fields for adopting dualisms and hierarchies. I think that this is very interesting because it is the implementation of these dualisms and hierarchies that puts technology at odds with the human and STEM at odds with the Humanities. I enjoyed Faulkner’s articles very much because she is very critical of the role of gender in STEM fields. It is so important to look at the intrinsic qualities that get attached to engineers based on their gender because this highlights some of the innate biases within the field. Since STEM work was created under a patriarchal framework the perspective of the woman has time after time been neglected. Even though we have made huge strides towards increasingly gender equality in STEM fields—the foundation of STEM was built upon dualisms and hierarchies which still subtly linger.

The remnants of patriarchy that still remain in the field are evidently part of the reason why members of the LGBT community felt that there unique perspective was “invisible”. This feeling of neglect is a direct consequence of the lack of diversity in engineering which only facilitates the continual perpetuation of hierarchies. In my opinion in order to successfully confront the current problems with diversity and STEM fields we must tackle the biases inherent within the foundation of the field first.

In order to successfully confront these inherent biases we must focus on how to increase diversity within the field and how to create an atmosphere in which various/diverse perspectives can peacefully co-exist without one being valued over the other. Issues of race and gender cannot be ignored and must taken into consideration when creating new scientific knowledge.

Fashionable Progress

I like change. I like getting rid of stuff and clutter. I try not to have stuff and clutter in the first place, but it just accumulates like dust. I had never considered this may be part of a governmental pan to increase spending and national morale. I never thought my love for shopping was something that I was provoked to enjoy by my society.

After watching “The Story of Stuff” (http://www.storyofstuff.com/) This quote from “retail analysis” Victor Lebow after World War II from the “Story of Stuff” left me gawking at the screen: “our enormously productive economy. . . demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption. . . we need things consumed, burned up, replaced and discarded at an ever-accelerated rate”.

I see this in the world around me.

I also think this coincides with L. Marx’s (1987), “Does improved technology mean progress?”. Why are we, as a society, so consumed by consumerism? The NEED for progress, and the need to buy the new compliment each other. We need to ask ourselves WHY : ”when the introduction of some new labor-saving technology is proposed, it is useful to ask what the purpose of this new technology is. Only by questioning the assumption that innovation represents progress can we being to judge its worth” (Marx, 11).

I was particularly hurt with Annie Leonard’s theory of fashion. She asserted that the flux of styles: when skinny heels are in and chunky heels are out and when chunky heels are in and skinny heels are out, is a sure way to know who is IN and who is OUT. The progression of styles and NEW.

But this is not necessarily fashion-- the way people choose to style themselves with clothing-- but more a reflection of the economic system where it is possible to make money off of clothing by trying to get everyone to want the latest, greatest, newest shirt, short and shoes.

However, this severely thrashes what style is all about. Style is about wearing chunky heels, even if they are out. The person who wears skinny heels just because they are in is not fashionable at all.

Vintage is in. Flea market finds and garage sell digs are fiend by many a fashion bloggers and aspiring fashionistas. This promotes recycling-- it is cool to say you found something truly unique at the Goodwill.

But companies are getting wise to this shift and trying to sell garments that look washed and worn but only because of the factory process it went through.

Perhaps, if everyone was concerned with defining his or her own style, we could help the world and reduce mindless consumerism.

I guess this is still buying but maybe in a better way.

We all make decisions about what we wear every single day. Even thinking that you don’t care what you wear and just put on whatever, is an example of how you choose to show yourself to the world.

A way to decrease the wastefulness and overwhelmingness of trying to keep up with a trend is by focusing more on our individuality and try to find ways to express this in the most unique way possible. Individuals need to define their own trends.

So then, instead of going to the closest big brand store that churns out the same “unique” shirt-- people may find themselves looking for clothes that were once worn in another time and place.

Stuff is the byproduct of progress.

Ever Changing Viewpoints. Reading Reaction #3

One thing I found very interesting in the article Educating the Engineer of 2020, was the thought about a Bachelor’s of Science in Engineering being considered an “‘engineer in training’ degree” and the Master of Science would be a “professional” degree in engineering. This is interesting to read in a structured plan for what Engineering Education should become because as we have seen in many of the articles over the quarter, as we go up in the education-hierarchy system, we see fewer women and people of color in the educational track for higher learning in the sciences, and it is those degrees that will elevate people to achieve ‘professional’ status. Without these Masters degrees, this large group of people is again being marginalized, even though they were able to achieve a Bachelors’ of Science. As Hess notes in the concluding notes of the Chapter 9 titled Conclusions: Science, Technology, and Multicultural Education,
“postsecondary science and technology education is an important pressure point because it is a gatekeeper to many highly paid professions. As I have shown in this book, science and technology are also sites for the reproduction of an ideology that values some groups and cultures over others” (Hess, page 3).
On another focus of the readings, one thing that has recently been bothering me about some of the engineering students in the program here at Cal Poly is the resistance to general education. The classes are seen as a ‘waste of time’ and classes that won’t actually affect their lives. However, we see that in the article The Engineer of 2020, “It is appropriate that engineers are educated to understand and appreciate history, philosophy, culture, and the arts, along with the creative elements of all of these disciplines”(Chapter 3: Aspirations for the Engineer of 2020, The Engineer of 2010). This idea is drastically different from the mindset of what many people believe will help them at the present, and the classes graduating in the five years before and after this graduation year will be considered the ‘Engineers of 2020’—who many of which do not appreciate these fields of study. After studying what some of the original and most influential philosophers thought of life and the sciences, it is interesting to see the change from the high value of a well rounded, knowledgeable person, to the focus of how good you are at seeing the problem and solving it in the most efficient manner. The origins of the basis of the science and mathematical systems we use today were produced by people who were highly knowledgeable of many different aspects of education- they were often collectively philosophers, physicists, mathematicians, scientists, and inventors. Typically the people who are considered most influential today are those that are highly specialized in one particular subject. Hess also touches on this need in the article published in 1995, stating that:
“an initial strategy is to begin to think about integrating a social science or humanities requirement into the science and engineering major in a manner that goes beyond standard distribution requirements to take a certain number of humanities and social science courses. For example, majors in technical fields could be required to take a course on the historical, social, cultural, or ethical aspects of biology, engineering, or one of the sciences” (Hess, page 3).
The ideas that engineering can improve life is a great driving force for why I am still involved in the field, and every day I see ways, that eventually with my training, I will change lives. I think that the article The Engineer of 2020 has a number of inspiring ambitions for the world and for engineering’s place in society. As it says,
“Engineering, through its role in the creation and implementation of technology, has been a key force in the improvement of our economic well-being, health, and quality of life. Three hundred years ago the average life span was 37 years, the primary effort of the majority of humans was focused on provisioning their tables, and the threat of sudden demise due to disease was a lurking reality (Kagan et al., 2001). Today, human life expectancy is approaching 80 years in many parts of the world as fundamental advances in medicine and technology have greatly suppressed the occurrence of and mortality rates for previously fatal diseases and the efforts of humankind are focused largely on enhanced quality of life (Central Intelligence Agency, 2001)” (Chapter 3: Aspirations for the Engineer of 2020, The Engineer of 2020).
This excerpt alone speaks to the wonders that engineering provides for a society, and it refreshes and reminds us of the human aspect and impact engineering has. I like the thought that things will get better, and though we always have to keep in mind the ideas for the need of better, more well rounded, outside the box ideas, we know that we are slowly getting there.

Soviet Education and EWB-USA

Throughout this course, I find myself very interested in the engineering education of other countries. As an engineering in the United States, I wonder how alike or how different my education is from, say, a Soviet engineer in the mid 1900s (approximately 1930-1965). The U.S. curriculum allows for specialization, but it also heavily targets broad categories, such as the humanities. To me, it is perfectly clear why Soviet engineers lacked the innovation to move their country forward in technological advancements. In the Ghost of the Executed Engineering, chapter 4, the author makes a bold statement that resonates and directly correlates with the fall of the soviet union: “..engineering students in the Soviet Union received a stunted and narrow education; it was intellectually impoverish, politically tendentious, socially unaware, and ethically lame”. This brings now to the concept of technocracy, where over half of the political leaders had received an engineering education. When I think of a politician, and thought is heavily influenced by the fact that I live in the U.S., I think of a well-rounded individual who could have a technical background, but above all, is knowledgeable in the different forms of government. The Soviet Union engineers received a grand total of three courses outside their specified technology, and these three courses were all based on communist theory. Even the course labeled as political economy only focus on one specific form of economy, communist! How then did the Soviet Union expect for growth when their brightest minds were enclosed to such a narrow curriculum? We see the disaster of Chernobyl, not because these engineers were incapable of noticing such a danger, but because they were never taught basic environmental engineering issues and human factors, especially in the category of safety, that could have prevented such a disaster.

After reading about these engineers, it is obvious that organizations such as EWB-USA need to be in place. Aside from these engineers using their extensive engineering knowledge, they are practicing all the other courses and practices they learn when becoming an engineer in the U.S. Although some engineers hate to admit it, it is crucial for our education to take courses like political economy, public speaking, and ethnic studies, even if it means we spend less time in our engineering courses. I agree that not every engineer will work in such an organization like EWB, but I’m sure each engineer will be faced with at least one instance when the knowledge learned in the non-engineering courses might be handy. EWB’s vision is “a world in which the communities we serve have the capacity to sustainably meet their basic human needs, and that our members have enriched global perspectives through the innovative professional educational opportunities that the EWB-USA program provides”. In this vision, I see the key words ‘global perspectives’, which most engineers would not consider as part of their engineering education, yet it is so crucial to obtain such perspectives. We have read about engineers that did not have these opportunities, whose education was so narrow they were not called mechanical engineers. Instead, they were called ‘ball bearing for paper mills engineers’. It is without say that as engineers who want to make a difference, we must focus on the outside courses with such vigor as we do with our engineering courses. This is why I think organizations such as EWB-USA encompass true engineers at its finest.

Engineers Without Borders, http://www.ewb-usa.org/
Graham, Loren. The Ghost of the Executed Engineer. Chapter 4: Technocracy, Soviet Style

Increasing Our Outreach To Society

Although many programs and steps are being taken to better our society through engineering, I am prompted to question whether engineers are directly asking communities what they need and would what better their lives. I feel as though their is a invisible barrier between people of society and engineers. Time after time I have heard of many engineering projects that fall short of what the population is really in need of. In the last decade new engineering programs are being created in order to change this problem and make a better outreach to society. Even though these programs are the newest invention of outreach to those in need, there are some flaws that could be changed that I would like to bring attention to.

Servicing the community during college courses in the United States has become one of the new ways to make the outreach. Schools are now expecting “for students not only to have a background in mathematics and science but also to have the skills to effectively communicate in a group and work with colleagues from across academic disciplines.”(Selingo) These high expectations push students to become more of a well rounded person that can coexist and serve society better than other engineers have been able to. Its great to here of the steps being put into place to better our engineers, yet the extent to which they communicate with society is questionable. Are we able to trust and hold these engineers accountable for communicating directly with our community? In order to make the change that we need for society to function in a way that is most convenient, engineers need to take action in surveys and questioners within our cities in order to find out what the people believe we need most. Our way of life could dramatically change if we the people begin making the decisions that our local cities carry out in our regional planning.

Engineers Without Borders is one of the closest programs that Cal Poly has put into place that amounts to the EPIC program that many campuses such as Purdue have engaged in. Along with EPIC, Engineering Without Borders teaches its students to better serve the community by “creating a more stable and prosperous world by addressing people's basic human needs by providing necessities such as clean water, power, sanitation and education.”(Engineers) This is a great program that is able to make an outreach to communities with help across the world. There are many positive attributes to this program, yet I feel that there are all some downsides. Engineering Without Borders is a only a club on campus, which I feel only allows its potential to be partially reached. I believe that the goals which push this club to make change would better serve the community if it were put into a curriculum for classroom credit. Our school would be better serving communities around the world if it became a necessity for engineering majors because it would allow students to have a better understanding of communication with society without having to go out of their way to join a club. This course would become one of the first for targeting the increase of help among the community for engineers at Cal Poly.

Engineers Without Borders Website http://www.ewb-usa.org/

Selingo (2006), “May I Help You?” (html), http://www.prism-magazine.org/summer06/feature_service.cf.

Monterrey Tech is Closer Than You Think...

In researching Monterrey Tech, officially Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey, I have come across some interesting pieces of information that I would like to zero in on. This private university offers what is considered a very prestigious and world-class education in the STEM field.

Monterrey’s location, in the state of Nuevo Leon, borders with Texas. On an informative tangent, I am not sure if people are turned on to the fact that Mexico is composed by states, just like the United States. Mexico’s official name is Estados Unidos Mexicanos; “Mexican United States”. This location is what facilitates two intertwined aspects of Monterrey Tech: 1) English is used to teach courses. It is foreseeable that English would be an influence on Mexican education as a neighboring country, but I feel that this influence is evermore intensified by the fact that the state of Nuevo Leon shares a border with the U.S. Noteworthy as well, is the fact that Monterrey Tech’s native city is the capital of this state. 2) Because English pays an important role in instruction at Monterrey Tech, the university seeks to legitimize its education by inviting American professors, amongst other nationalities, to serve as visiting faculty. This has played a significant role in allowing Monterrey Tech to be accredited by the United States’s Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). These two aspects serve to elevate Monterrey Tech’s status from nationally-competitive Mexican technological-institute, to internationally recognized institution.

To make this statement concrete for the moment, I would like to provide a tie between Monterrey Tech and Cal Poly. An acquaintance of mine, now a graduate from Cal Poly’s nationally-ranked College of Architecture and Environmental Design, who majored in Architectural Engineering, studies abroad for a year at Monterrey Tech, at its satellite campus site in the state of Queretaro. Indeed, if one goes to the official CSU International Programs website, and looks up the exchange partners universities that the CSU has with different countries, Monterrey Tech is the only officially recognized partner institution located in Mexico. I wanted to add this information, because to me, it speaks volumes. My acquaintance with knowledge about Monterrey Tech comes from my family being from Chihuahua City, in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico. A Monterrey Tech campus is established in this city, and when my parents reminisce about their college days, they always mouth off about how all the schools located in Chihuahua exist in the shadow of Monterrey Tech. Having emigrated to Los Angeles, and sent off me, their daughter, to a respected polytechnic school in San Luis Obispo, I find that this same school that I have been hearing about ever since I was growing up, is actually tied to some of the students at the university we now all attend. I wanted to lend some of that tangibility to this project by sharing this information with you. I figured it would drive home that our education is being guided toward a direction of internationalization, and that this aspect is somehow being used as a criteria for the legitimization of what it means to be a world-class educational institute.

The Engineering Curriculum

My original project idea was to research the engineering education in Mexico to find the reasons why students drop out of the engineering pipeline. After conducting some research, I realized that there was too much information lacking that prevented me from going really in depth into the subject. I then decided to change my topic into why latino women drop out of the engineering pipeline in the U.S. Through my research, I found many parallels between African American women and Latino women who want to pursue a career in engineering. Therefore, my project started heading more into a compare and contrast scenario between both ethnicities. The issue now is narrowing the subject further. There are many aspects I can focus on, such as culture or household portraits of these minorities.

During one of our classes, Dr. Lehr also mentioned the middle school curriculum effects on students pursuing a higher education. I decided to do further research on this project with a stronger focus on women, and it is interesting to note that more girls are enrolled in Pre-Algebra and Algebra courses, which is perfect to continue the mathematics curriculum in high school, but once they reach high school, majority do not take the next level of mathematics, in fact, they retake some of these courses. It is most predominantly found in specific regions where the infrastructure for a rigorous mathematics and science education is extremely lacking. I am taking a closer look at this issue because I think it could lead to the effects of the engineering pipeline.

Coming from a small town where the highest mathematics course was Statistics and the highest science course was conceptual physics, my research has really opened my eyes and made me realize that I am amongst the small percentage of latino women who have not yet leaked out the engineering pipeline. What is most alarming is that even after I graduate and work in industry, there is still a risk of me leaving industry and deviating from engineering. I attended the Google Talk featuring one of the first female engineers at google, Marissa Mayer, and her journey is quite tumultuous, yet she still holds one of the most prestigious positions in the engineering industry, proving that is more than possible and plausible for a woman to hold high positions in industry. Ultimately, I would be thrilled if my research could serve as a stepping stone for educators to fortify their curriculum in hopes to increase the number of latino women in engineering.