I've always thought the born-digital, high-quality review articles (called "lectures") that Morgan & Claypool publish as part of their Synthesis product are one of the best products out there. They really get publishing scholarly and professional materials in the digital age.
One of their most interesting lecture series is the Synthesis Lectures on Engineers, Technology and Society.
Three new lectures in that series look to be perfect texts for a broad range of Engineering & Society-type course. In fact, I think a pretty good course along those lines could use nothing but the Synthesis articles.
- Engineering and Society: Working Towards Social Justice, Part I: Engineering and Society by Caroline Baillie, George Catalano
- Engineering and Society: Working Towards Social Justice, Part II: Decisions in the 21st Century by George Catalano , Caroline Baillie
- Engineering and Society: Working Towards Social Justice, Part III: Windows on Society by Caroline Baillie, George Catalano
A few examples of previously published lectures in that series:
- Engineering: Women and Leadership by Corri Zoli, Shobha Bhatia, Valerie Davidson, Kelly Rusch
- Engineering, Poverty, and the Earth by George D. Catalano
- Globalization, Engineering, and Creativity by John Reader
These are subscription products, so if you're institution doesn't have them you should contact your local engineering librarian.
It's worth noting that I think Synthesis is a great example of the kinds of things academic libraries should be supporting and promoting. It's hard to imagine a free business model that would work for this kind of fairly unique, high-quality content. It's up to us to decide to spend our money on things that are truly worth it.
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