In this class, we will explore what it means for an object, place, or system to be engineered, and we will consider the different ways people have expressed their habits, beliefs, and values through their engineering. Along the way, we will interpret relevant texts from the past, learn how to “read” engineered objects, and consider the ways people have designed, adapted to, or resisted engineered environments and systems.
Photo: Charles M. Hiller, Golden Gate Bridge under construction, San Francisco, 1934. Source: Library of Congress, 90713569 . Click to enlarge.
So, for example, if we were to consider the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge (pictured above), we might ask, and attempt to find compelling answers to, these kinds of questions: