Overview of Topics – Engineering Social Impact

Week 1 – Introduction & Topics Overview

Engineering social impact mission statement, curriculum guidelines, value & relevance of curriculum, expectations, project overview.

Week 2 – Reframing Engineering Perspectives, Implicit Bias Training & Anti-Racist Definitions

2a – Reframing engineering, IMPACT method, empathy manifestation, dimensions of care in engineering education.

2b – Implicit bias, definitions of racism, bias training, guided applications.

Week 3 – Community Based Projects, Mutual Aid & Affinity Diagram

3a – Defining mutual aid, community based projects.

3b – Building affinity diagrams.

Week 4- Introduction to Inequities in Engineering & Interrelationship Digraph

4a – Understanding inequities, examples of inequities created by engineering projects, redlining cities, assessing social equity, questioning an engineer’s responsibility.

4b – interrelationship digraphs.

Week 5 – Interdisciplinary Engineering & Tree Diagram

5a – Intersectional engineering, interdisciplinary approaches to problem solving, reframing perspectives, Case Study: ORSJ Lab.

5b – When to use tree diagrams & how it connects to interrelationship digraphs.

Week 6 – The Military Industrial Complex & Prioritization Matrix

6a – Defining the military industrial complex, U.S. universities and defense, climate change & the military, engineering & social justice, Case Study: Amplifying Palestinian Voices 1948, Case Study: Palestinian Youth Movement.

6b – Introduction to the prioritization matrix.

Week 7 – Human Rights, Accessibility & User Centered Design

7a – Human rights, capitalism, colonialism, capitalism & human rights, Case Study: Boeing.

7b – Disability & accessibility, universal design, seven basic principles.

Week 8 – Healthcare Systems & SEIPS Model

8a – Healthcare systems, U.S. American health insurance, engineering & healthcare, obstetric racism, SACRED birth study.

8b – SEIPS model, Root Cause Analysis, outpatient surgery.

Week 9 – Culture Change & Decolonizing Engineering

9a – Current culture, culture change, science, history of science, feminist epistemology of science, scientific racism, Case Study: Activism in Engineering.

9b – Land back, colonialism, relevance to the current narrative, Case Study: Decolonization is for Everyone, Case Study: Sacred Earth Solar, Case Study: Dams in Northern California.

Week 10 – Engineering Ethics & Engineering Causing Injustice

10a – Engineering ethics, environmental protection, Case Study: Off the Clock, Case Study: Misinterpretation Mayhem, Case Study: Henrietta Lacks.

10b – IMPACT method, Case Study: Bridges Preventing Buses, Case Study: Cobalt in the Congo, Case Study: Cop City in Atlanta, Case Study: Marine Floating Razor Wire, Case Study: Algorithms of Oppression.

Week 11 – Grant Writing, Professional Codes of Ethics & Diversity in STEM

11a – Grant writing, professional codes of ethics, rethinking professional codes.

11b – Alternative ways of learning, importance of diversity, diversity in STEM, solutions, Case Study: More than Intervention Strategies.

Week 12 – Presentation Skills, Science Communication & Artificial Intelligence

12a – Presentation skills, importance of science communication, connecting with an audience, importance of language.

12b – Artificial intelligence, use of resources, ethical considerations, sourcing.

Week 13 – Enhancing Human Capabilities & Alternative Options for Engineers

13a – Exploration of the things that ‘make life worth living, role of engineers & designers in equity & justice, discussion of system barriers for achieving equity & justice.

13b – Alternative job options, where to go from here, call to action.