Shock and Awe in the Civil Engineering Classroom

When one advocates using drama to breathe fresh life into a col­ lege classroom, engineering is not the first subject that comes to mind. Law, history, and political science seem much more likely candidates. Law offers a natural source of conflict and resolution as major issues are argued passionately by both sides and a jury or all-powerful judge decides the outcome; there are clear winners and losers. History is the story of dreams realized, wars fought, nations formed, and a perpetual competition for resources. Politi­ cal science relates how nations organize, make decisions, and establish policy. All of these activities feature exciting tales of backroom maneuvering, powerful personalities, and unpredictable events. These subjects naturally lend themselves to suspense, in­ trigue, and compelling stories. Engineering, on the other hand, is the application of scientific theories, imposition of an organized and mechanistic thought process, and demonstration of conserva­ tive and responsible behavior. Hollywood knows. They make movies and television shows about cops, doctors, lawyers, corpo­ rate villains—sometimes even about teachers and soldiers—but almost never about engineers. If an engineer ever did appear in a movie, it would probably be Tom Hanks screaming, “There’s no crying in baseball and there’s no drama in engineering.” But he would be wrong.