Memo+16


 * Core category 1: Engineering Identity**

Engineering Identity is an emerging topic in Engineering Studies. I went to the Engineering Studies Brownbag on this Wednesday and had a talk on Engineering Identity. According to Atsushi, the notion of Engineering Identity is still developing and open to different approaches. Currently the studies of Engineering Identity mainly focus on locating engineering in the society, but other angles of studies are welcomed to enrich the concept. I intend to examine the engineering students' self-perception of their identity as would-be engineers as well as the social identification of engineering through their attitudes on the engineering education.

In terms of China, I also intend to examine the shift from engineers as public intellectuals to technical labors. My assumption is that in the past, engineers as part of the few people who have received higher education, played the role of social thinkers, but with the expansion of higher education in China and the choice of engineering major for job seeking, the identity of engineers as public intellectual has been substituted with labor with expertise.

David said that he had a caution in using the term “identity” because it may lead to the focus on psychologic aspect and lose the attention on institutional factors. I acknowledge this caution, my intention is to look at the institutional structuring of engineering education and how the students register this structuring into their self identity.


 * Category 2: Reinforcement**

I came across this concept without any theoretical basis. I am not sure whether there's already literature on reinforcement (later I realized that this is a concept in the behaviorism psychology, but Foucault may have some theory close to this idea), but I feel it is meaningful in my project. I roughly define “reinforcement” as the selective encouragement (this definition seems too weak) of development in certain directions. It means in the process of reinforcement, several possibilities are intentionally weakened or closed.

I want to examine various levels of reinforcements in the engineering education, which include: The reinforcement of power structure; The business/industry's reinforcement of the technical labor manufacturing; The business/industry's reinforcement of the philosophy of engineering education; The education's reinforcement of the growth (expertise, cognition, objectives) of students; The social (parents, public) reinforcement of the role of engineers (as well-paid technical labors). To some extent, education could be seen as a technique of reinforcement.

And I could also examine the exceptions or resistance of reinforcement.