Briefing: How might civil engineering history be used?

Abstract

To perform relevant and useful studies, civil engineering historians often treat structures and the discipline itself as isolated objects. This style informs conservation and current practice, but it does not provide systemic reflection on how the discipline emerged. Identifying implicit themes in the works of established civil engineering historians suggests a new perspective that moves beyond technical or biographical accounts. Such reflection reveals how practices are formed and continue to change outside of solely quantified or technical influences. Critical enquiries like this are required of a profession whose choices have profound impacts on the built environment.