10. Governing Engineering

Most people agree that our world faces daunting problems, and, ­correctly or not, technological solutions are seen as an integral part of an overall solution. But what exactly are the problems and how does the engineering “­mindset” frame these problems? This chapter sets out to unravel dominant perspectives in challenge perception in engineering in the USA and Denmark. Challenge perception and response strategies are closely linked through discursive practices. Challenge perceptions within the engineering community and the surrounding society are thus critical for the shaping of engineering education and the engineering profession. Through an analysis of influential reports and position papers on engineering and engineering education, this chapter aims to identify how engineering is problematized and eventually governed. Drawing on insights from governmentality studies, this chapter strives to elicit the bodies of knowledge, belief, and opinions in which engineering is immersed. Thus, the overall objective is explorative. By investigating the language, practices, and techniques by which engineering is governed, this chapter points to the presumptions, stipulations, and “limits” of the dominant discourses that shape our thinking about engineering and engineering education. Thereby, the analysis adds a critical input to the ongoing debates on “the future of engineering.”