WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF ENGINEERING IDENTITY IN DEPARTMENTAL MAGAZINES

Abstract

The literature on university marketing materials suggests that institutions of higher education often commodify diversity in order to encourage students from minoritized groups to submit applications to these schools. Drawing from this literature, this study utilized one electrical and computer engineering department's alumni magazine over 16 years to analyze the implicit and explicit ways an ideal engineer is depicted. Drawing on previously published work on engineering identity development and critical race theory, this study utilized critical discourse analysis to uncover how nearly 20 years of departmental publications privilege certain key players in the department (i.e., faculty and successful alumni) over others (i.e., undergraduates, women students, and students of color) and portray students from minoritized backgrounds in problematic ways that may undermine efforts to broaden participation.