Expanding Engineering Limits: Culture, Diversity and Gender
Information
Language of Instruction: English
Type: Lecture
Registration dates from Sept. 1st, 2023, 00:00 until October 8th, 2023, 23:59.
Content
The aim of the course "Expanding Engineering Limits: Culture, Diversity and Gender" is to provide students with an interactive and interdisciplinary course format in which critical issues are discussed that are directly related to the student's future fields of activity. The course analyses the interrelations between engineering, social responsibility, and professional culture in the context of culture, gender and diversity. The complex effects of the above-mentioned factors on processes in society as a whole and on everyday learning and working in research, development, and practical engineering sciences are reflected and viewed from new perspectives.
The course "Expanding Engineering Limits: Culture, Diversity and Gender" is based on a theoretical perspective on diversity and the effects of diversity on different dimensions. The course deals with basic concepts and paradigms of intersectional science and technology studies. The course requires the readiness for interdisciplinary discussions and critical reflection on the individual professional culture. Thus, the course opens up fundamental but also more advanced knowledge in the areas of gender and diversity approaches, social practice, and culture of engineering sciences, especially for students of engineering sciences.
Intended Learning Outcomes
Knowledge & Understanding
Students are able to define and compare terms and concepts in the field of gender, sex and diversity and can identify examples in different contexts. They can explain the context between engineering and social responsibility.
They can describe particular concepts and approaches of culture, social practice, processes of inclusion, exclusion and discrimination in selected contexts.
Students are able to analyse the concept of intersectionality in women’s and men’s experiences in engineering cultures as well as common assumptions and stereotypes about engineering and sex/gender differences.
Application & Transfer
Students can transfer their acquired knowledge and learning insights to other contexts and are able to identify them in new contexts, especially in engineering.
They are able to develop and express their own opinions and ideas, verbalize and reflect on it in discussions. Students can also concretize and explicate them in oral presentations as well as in written elaborations on a basic level.
Reflection & Evaluation
Students are able to reflect and evaluate their acquired knowledge and learning insights. They can identify, analyze and evaluate gender and diversity perspectives in engineering. They can also envision new engineering processes, practices and cultures, which reflect new or expanded perspectives on gender, diversity and culture.
Sustainable Development Goals
The relation between engineering sciences, social and cultural aspects as well as gender and diversity perspectives conveyed in the course reflect the close links between engineering sciences and the SDGs 5, 10, 11 and 13. In combination with the versatile teaching methods of the course, students acquire not only knowledge and understanding, but also the ability to reflect on, apply and transfer their knowledge to new contexts. In their future work as engineers, they can thus pursue the Sustainable Development Goals by applying a comprehensive, interdisciplinary view of engineering sciences and engineering problems.
Explore all teaching and research activities at GDI concerning these goals:
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities