Undergraduate history students are not shielded from the messy complexity of human affairs. Engineering students should be encouraged to ask about the ways in which engineering projects will shape society and the ways in which social forces will shape the project. Engineering faculty should team with humanistic and social science faculty to offer courses and seminars that explore complex engineering case histories which reveal the seamless interaction of technical, economic, political, social, and environmental factors during design, development, deployment, and maintenance of engineering projects. A myth about engineering prevails among humanities faculty and students. Partially because of engineers own unexamined statements about their profession, humanists believe that engineering is an objective science with a rigid methodology practiced by narrowly focused experts.
Humanists believe there is one best way of solving engineering problems.
If the myth were ignored and the reality perceived, humanists and the public at large would understand that engineering is an art and a science deeply laden with values. They would see the possibility of learning about the realities of engineering practice as displayed in engineering projects of public interest. If they understood the process of technological change, they would see the possibility of participating in the creation of the built environment in which they spend most of their lives. In this, the third year of IHUM, growth, change and development are the order of the day. After two transitional years with freshmen enrolled in CIV as well as in IHUM, as of this fall the entire class of 2003 is now enrolled in IHUM courses.