Opening engineering students' minds to ideas beyond technology

What will be the impact of WEC2000 (Engineering Criteria 2000) on the humanities and social sciences (HSS) component in engineering and computer science curricula in the United States? The criteria relevant to HSS in EC20001 require that graduates of engineering programs have: 1) an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility; 2) an ability to communicate effectively; 3) the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global and societal context; 4) and a knowledge of contemporary issues. This article poses the same basic question that Gianniny (1982) did: why are the humanities and social sciences regarded with such ambivalence today by engineering educators?.