Engineering Discourse and its Role in Shaping Modern Engineering Education

Abstract

The present paper considers principal attributes of the civil engineering discourse terminology.Engineering discourse is understood as some information field based on the scientific worldview and comprising denotative content of an engineering activity. It developed from the applied discourse analysis and applied linguistics and is related to the area of specialized languages. The paper contemplates a problem that the discourse of engineering science is currently dominating in the engineering education discourse while other essential discourses are virtually excluded. The purpose of this study is to direct the change in how engineering is practiced, taught and structured. Outlining the workings of the constitutive discourses can unshackle architecture and engineering from its current limitations as the ability of critical thinking is essential for future engineers. New engineering discourse will go beyond the constraints imposed on it by business and science. The urgent need for engineering discourse that is socially sensitive, inclusive, environmentally-oriented is acute and its role in engineering education is invaluable.