On Pawley (2013).
Have you ever used a personal narrative as a source of data to convince someone of your opinion or viewpoint? If so, discuss the occasion. If not, why?
Have you ever used a personal narrative as a source of data for an engineering assignment or to influence a decision made for an engineering project? If so, please expand or if not, why?
Pawley identifies “three major problems” which undermine the effectiveness of existing studies seeking to increase the number of underrepresented students in STEM. Restate each of the three in your own words. Have you previously encountered or considered these approaches? Why or why not?
Pawley quotes Thomas King on page 11, can you think of a story you’ve heard that has influenced your life’s trajectory or your perspective? Who’s story was it? How and why did it influence you?
On Masta (2017).
Rephrase one of Masta’s examples of colonization in higher education. Is this something you have ever thought about or noticed in your educational experiences thus far?
Note the distinction between “small stories” and “grand narratives” in Masta’s justification of small stories as a primary data source. Why do you think small stories are employed here?
On both 99% Invisible (2020) and Leydens & Lucena (2009).
Of the six aspects of contextual listening outlined in Leydens & Lucena (2009), which are present in the 99% Invisible podcast?
The podcast steps through various phases of the sex-segregated bathroom’s evolution and identifies who was included and who was left out during each phase. Which of these artifact’s politics were you most surprised by and why?
Host Roman Mars states, “The irony is people on both sides of this debate claim they’re on the side of safety.” Consider how his supporting argument utilizes small stories as evidence – do you feel that the use of individual examples here is convincing? Why or why not?
After reviewing the resources on the Flint, MI water crisis (MCRC (2017), Denchack (2018), 60 Minutes (2021), ASEE (2019)).
Who are the stakeholders in the Flint Water Crisis? What were the conflicts between their priority objectives?
Explain structural racialization in the context of Flint, MI.
Describe at least three barriers to visibility (from Leydens & Lucena (2018)) experienced by Dr. Mona or E. Yvonne Lewis when they initially presented their arguments to scientists, engineers, and decision-makers.
The Michigan Civil Rights Commission asks, “if, without racist intent, a systemic problem repeatedly produces different results based on people’s skin color, how long does it take before leaving the system in place is itself racism?”. What are other examples of long-standing biases systems? What do you think it would take to call our this systems bias and displace them with new systems? What is keeping this problematic system in place?