Weaving Three Strands Towards Justice-Oriented Sustainability Education

The field of Engineering is deeply implicated in processes and systems that are endangering life on earth. The use of fossil fuels is a case in point. The subject of sustainability is usually taught without reference to this implication. I shall present outcomes of a transdisciplinary approach to sustainability education that aims at narrowing this gap. I have combined techniques from Engineering Design, Anthropology, and Peace Studies in a Mechanical Engineering two credit hour technical elective course on Sustainable Energy Systems. The students engage in participant observation, and guided reflection of their chosen artifact throughout the semester. They learn about renewable energy technologies through lectures. They create a proof-of-concept design solution to a community-based project using cooperative learning techniques. Finally, they bring it all together in a class discussion on a case study in lieu of the final exam. The case is of a sustainable district Vauban, Frieburg, Germany. After dissecting its features, they place their artifact in Vauban and examine it from multiple design paradigms and systems of resource consumption. The goal of this student-centered course is to connect the technical concepts of sustainable energy systems to their personal and daily lives.