week3
1) Dr. Richter's lecture discusses how the industrial revolution impacted the lives of workers. Compare this to the digital revolution of the present. How have technological innovations changed the way we work?

2) In "Railroad Space and Time," Wolfgang Schivelbusch states of railroad travel, "What is experienced as annihilated is the traditional space-time continuum which was characterized by the old transport technology. Organically embedded in nature as it was, that technology, in its mimetic relationship with the space traversed, permitted the traveler to perceive that space as a living entity. Bergson speaks of the "duree," duration, of the road from one place to another: this is not an objective mathematical unit" (Schivelbusch 33). What other innovations have had a similar impact on our relationship with time and space?

3) Schivelbusch writes that in using the railroad, humans are "no longer travelers - rather, as Ruskin puts it, these are human parcels who dispatch themselves to their destination by means of the railroad, arriving as they left Paris, untouched by the space traversed" (Schivelbusch 35). How has railroad, and other means of transport that we regularly use, changed our relationship to our physical environment? Are there other innovations that similarly change the way we relate to the physical world?

week4
1) In "Vitruvius and the Education of the Architect" Amir Bani-Masoud outlines different definitions of an architect, from Plato, to Cicero, to Vitruvius. How would you define the role of an architect today?

2) In this week's lectures, Dr. Richter discusses the notion of the "Renaissance Engineer" and posits that engineers should have wide ranging interests (Lecture 4c). Likewise, Bani-Masoud demonstrates the connection between architects and drawing, music, philosophy, medicine, and law. Consider why it is important for engineers and architects to be involved in other fields. 

3) Bert S. Hall writes that "both Giovanni’s machine and the treatise in which he describes it can be related to a very old tradition of complex geared devices and writings about them" (Hall 131). Discuss the relationship between writing and engineering. 

week5
1) Lisa Jardine writes, "what happens if today we recast creativity as a generalized energy, released under pressure of immediate demands and circumstances, through the efforts of engaged, problem-solving groups of people, operating between what have become for us competing disciplines, succored by different specialisms" (Jardine 291). Discuss the discipline divide between art and science today. How does this impact engineers?

2) Should engineers be considered artists or scientists? Both? Why?

3) Consider Mario Biagioli's depiction of Galileo's reticence about his inventions and non-cooperation with his peers. Does a sense of competition drive innovation by motivating individual engineers, or does it inhibit innovation by fostering a refusal to share ideas?

week7
1) Consider the notion of "Techno-social sensitivity" (Harris 159) as discussed by Charles E. Harris. How does technology transform human experience and why is this important?

2) What is problematic about utilitarianism? Why is it difficult to incorporate into engineering?

3) Solve the trolley problem by choosing to save five people while letting one die, or saving one and letting 5 people die. Adopt the ethical viewpoint of deontology, consequentialism, utilitarianism, or Kantian ethics to defend your answer. 

week8
1) Consider what Melanie Zurba discusses about the "wicked problem" of siloed colonial governance. Why is having separate departments for specific areas problematic? You may refer back to our discussion about why it can be helpful for engineers to be educated in several different areas. 

2) Discuss the ways in which conservation and reconciliation are connected in Canada. How can focusing on conservation and reconciliation benefit everyone? Can you think of any specific ways in which conservation and reconciliation are related to engineering?

3) Conservation is about responsibility. In the video "Indigenous Circle of Experts: Central Regional Gathering," several Indigenous experts discuss the 2020 environmental targets. Consider how the Canadian government and Indigenous nations are responsible for meeting conservation targets. Is there also a role that engineers play in this?