China is a leading engineering country, fueling unprecedented global development. Technology and educational exchanges bring Chinese organizations, practitioners, and students together with similar groups from around the world. These collaborations depend on ethical and cultural considerations as much as technical expertise. To facilitate understanding and strengthen cooperation, this volume provides an overview of current research and discussions related to China, engineering, and ethics. It includes perspectives from experts in engineering and technology ethics with first-hand China experience.
This volume seeks to promote understandings of Chinese cultural and social contexts that are central to ethical engineering. By reading, discussing, and applying the knowledge contained in this volume, the hope is that scholars, policymakers, and (especially) engineers working in and/or with China will have a better understanding of Chinese culture and history, and how these affect practices surrounding engineering and technology. In turn, such understanding would lead to greater cooperation, better realizing the global benefits of ethical engineering.
Who We Are
LANCSET (Laboratory and Network for the Cultural Studies of Engineering and Technology) is an interdisciplinary research group at Virginia Tech.
Based in Virginia Tech, LANCSET is an open, inclusive laboratory & community consisting of scholars committed to studying technology and engineering from culturally responsive perspectives. The group is committed to making visible and challenging cultural values and ideologies prominent in training, practices, and policies surrounding engineering and technology, using empirical and experimental methodologies to study the effects of cultural values and norms on these environments. LANCSET explores cultural factors affecting technological ecologies responsible for deprioritizing, marginalizing, or excluding individuals and groups, working to incorporate cultural resources from overlooked, non-Western traditions – especially Confucianism – into the design of professional training and emerging technologies, for example, robotics and AI-enabled technologies. It also conducts philosophical and critical studies of cultural practices in engineering education (e.g., medicalization and psychologization).
If you are interested in exploring potential collaboration opportunities, please visit the Contact Us page to leave a message or send us an email. We thank you for your interest in our work and look forward to collaborating with you!