Course: Democracy and Media
Institution: Olin College of Engineering
Faculty: Erhardt Graeff

Assignment: Civic Professionalism Reflective Writing and Discussion

The activity takes place over two class periods. The first class period offers a short lecture based on readings about civic professionalism from Harry Boyte and Albert Dzur. The lecture introduces civic professionalism as a framework for a civic-mindset and ethical and democratic practices in professional fields and also connects this to the virtue of humility (specifically the pursuit of epistemic humility and epistemological pluralism in engineering work). I then ask students to imagine exemplars of civic professionals. They share and discuss these together in groups and as a class, deliberating about what makes for a civic professional. 

Students then write a reflective essay on civic professionalism that extends their thinking about their exemplar and then looks prospectively at the potential of being a civic professional in engineering in their own career and how they imagine the relevance of humility to their future careers. 

In the next class, students share their essays with a partner, reading and discussing them. I then scaffold the discussion to explore their hopes and concerns about being a civic professional in engineering.

Procedures for the Discussion

Break into groups of 4–5 (mix with folks you didn’t pair & share with) 

Discussion Questions 

• For the civic professionals in your essays, do you think their civically responsible activity is primarily a function of their civic virtue (i.e., their personal values and character traits emphasizing concern for others and the common good) or their perceived professional or civic obligation (i.e., a duty or required action of their position)?
• What power might civic professionals in engineering be able to wield to make change on an everyday, perhaps “slow burn” basis?
• What do you think about politics in engineering?
• Can every engineer be a civic professional? Should they?
• How do you imagine professional responsibilities and civic responsibilities overlapping or interacting in your own career? What do you hope for? What are you concerned about?