Professional Courtesy: Historians Encounter Engineers

In his March 2012 column in Perspectives on History, American Historical Association President William Cronin discussed the relevance of the members of his association self-describing as “professional historians,” as well as the relationship of academic history to public history.  At the same time, in the past few years there has been great interest among professional historians about how the ongoing 21^st century digital revolution that is affecting all aspects of global society is specifically impacting the practice of history— from research and presentation of findings to interaction with a variety of current and potential audiences.  Given this importance of the technological changes subsumed by the term “digital revolution,” it is not surprising that historians of technology have been studying their origins in the mid- and late-20^th century.  To do so, these historians encounter individuals who were key historical actors in the development and spread of the new technologies.  It turns out that these actors also self-identify as members of a profession—engineering—and that an understanding of the process of professionalization of engineering is a key component of the story of the technologies that they developed and how these were shaped by and in turn help shape social forces. At the same time, as a case study in professionalization, the professionalization of engineering can inform understanding the professionalization process in general, including, say, of history.  Still more fascinatingly, professional engineers are a key audience for the public history of technology that emerges from these studies. Professional historians are studying a professional group whose professional activity impacts the professional activities of historians.  This presentation will explore how the author, trained as both an engineer and an anthropologist, became involved in a public history of digital engineering program that informed his understanding of both the profession of engineering and the profession of history.