EDUCATION COMMUNITIES
Literature’s Not Just for Liberal Arts Majors
B Y M A R J A N E G G E R M ONT
Many colleges and
universities have instituted
a common reading program
for incoming first-year
students. Typically, a book
is selected by a campus
committee and introduced during summer orientation activities.
Students are expected to read the book in
early fall and then participate in discussion
groups and other activities.
In 2013, our first-year design and
communications course participated
for the first time, because the book, No
Impact Man by Colin Beavan, addressed
questions about sustainable living and
added value to a planned design project.
Students were asked to read one chapter
of the book, critically discuss it in groups,
and then assign a spokesperson to summarize their chapter for the class and provide
constructive criticism. This was done with
the entire first-year class of 725 students
over four lecture sections.
The next year, 600 students read the book
The Martian by Andy Weir (before the movie
was out in theaters) over the course of 13
weeks, with a variety of guest speakers and
deliverables, such as mapping, data visualization, drawings, and online Q&A modules on
engineering ethics. All deliverables contributed to the written and graphical communications learning outcomes for the course.
The reasons for introducing literature
into a course for engineering students
were summed up nicely by “Scientists
and Engineers Need Literature,” an online
article by Troy Camplin, a freelance writing
consultant and former lecturer in English.
He noted that:
ƒƒ “Literary works are the most refined
and complex versions of our natural way
of thinking.” Reading sharpens your
thinking and makes it more complex.
ƒ ƒ Literature helps stimulate creativity.
“Specialists in a field who only read
and discuss the work of others in
that field can settle into uncreative
groupthink. Literature, with its
complexities and narrative structures
and alternative meanings, can break
groupthink, creating new insights
and possibilities.”
ƒƒ Literature allows you to enter the
life and world of different people and
generates empathy.
The above skills are important for lifelong
learning, teamwork, and engineering design.
As an introduction to reading The
Martian, the class listened to a guest lecture
by a former astronaut, now the chancellor
of our university. This helped inspire the
students, and they were challenged to think
about real-world design problems that exist
in space by someone who had spent time on
the International Space Station. And a lecture
by one of our researchers showed students
the orbital calculations involved and design
challenges faced for guided atmospheric
entry of a Mars vehicle.
For each chapter of the book, a different
type of communication deliverable aligned
with the type of information that was being
discussed. For the chapter that described
modifications to the Mars rover, students
were asked to draw the rover based on
the book’s description. The chapter that
discussed the supplies the main character
assembled to take to the pickup site had an
accompanying data visualization exercise.
In addition to reading fiction in our
first-year design class, students have also
completed book reviews in our third-year
technology and society class. Students could
choose from a long list of books related to
various fields of engineering study, and the
book reviews consisted of one visualization
per chapter.
©Published by the National Society of Professional Engineers, March/April 2017
STUDENTS DREW THEIR INTERPRETATIONS OF THE
MARS ROVER IN THE MARTIAN AFTER READING THE
CHAPTER DESCRIBING IT.
Using the periodic table of visualization
methods (www.visual-literacy.org/periodic_table/periodic_table.html), students
selected different methods to communicate their ideas. Students spent more time
with the book material because they were
extracting different types of data and had to
reread sections to make proper connections.
One idea for the future is to develop a
Fiction for Engineers course to sharpen
thinking, stimulate creativity, and enhance
empathy. Until then, projects like this will
be embedded in courses when possible.
For all the book projects to date, it was
key to find the right books for the classes,
which ranged from 200 to 600 students.
The Martian was especially a big success,
as it is well researched, technical, funny,
exciting, and easy to read.
One student e-mailed two weeks into
the semester and asked, “I have never
really read fiction, but I have finished the
book. What should I read next?”
Marjan Eggermont is associate dean for
student affairs and a faculty member in the
mechanical and manufacturing department
of the Schulich School of Engineering at
the University of Calgary, Canada.
She is also a board member of the American
Society for Engineering Education. This
article is based on a paper presented at the
2016 ASEE annual conference.
THE MAGAZINE FOR PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS
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