Humanities Awareness: A Comparison Between Honors Program and Traditional Undergraduate Engineering Students

摘要

The importance of the humanities in engineering education has not been without controversy. Reflecting current ABET criteria, engineering students are expected to develop a high level of cultural, societal, and ethical awareness, with such awareness permeating the future professional practice of engineering. Defining and achieving desired objectives in humanities education is formidable for undergraduate students in general. At one extreme, there are so-called traditionalists who hold the position that all "educated" individuals should demonstrate a mastery of specified topics (for example, Greek classics), with the topics more or less representing the entire history of western civilization. Examples of adherents of this position are Allen Bloom and Ed Hirsch, academics who have authored the controversial books The Closing of the American Mind and Cultural Literacy respectively. Traditionalist curriculums tend to be very homogenous, with minimum flexibility regarding course selection. Taking an opposite position, there are so-called modernists who maintain that the traditionalist viewpoint is inappropriate for contemporary society; humanities and social topics should be emphasized which prepare student for today's complex diverse world. Modernist curriculum tends to be more diverse and flexible regarding course availability and selection.