Abstract
This chapter intends to reflect on the engineering practice and education from a Global South’s perspective, its relationships with grassroots social processes, and the transitions towards the Amerindian Buen Vivir, as opposed to the hegemonic colonial model of engineering from the North and its imperative of satisfying the market’s needs. This way, after a quick presentation of some aspects of both hegemonic and alternative/counter-hegemonic engineering practice and education panoramas (introduction), such panoramas are described in the decolonial theory’s terms (Sect. 23.2), and Buen Vivir’s central elements are sketched (Sect. 23.3). Then, two case studies from Colombia are described (Sect. 23.4), the specificities of this engineering training and practice are highlighted and systematized/theorized, and some of their disruptive potentialities are singled out (Sect. 23.5). In the final section, two main challenges of decolonial or counter-hegemonic engineering practice and education in general, and for the Buen Vivir, in particular, are briefly introduced: institutionalization and evaluation.
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Notes
- 1.
Buen Vivir refers to a group of Latin American ideas that share a strong skepticism about development and other core elements of modernity while also proposing alternatives. It cannot be regarded as an ideology or culture, nor can it be compared to the Western concept of happiness or the ideal life. It indicates a deeper shift in knowledge, affectivity, and spirituality and an ontological opening to new ways of thinking about human-non-human relationships that do not necessitate the modern division of civilization and nature. It is an evolving and plural category that takes on diverse forms in different countries and regions. It is unconventional in that it combines indigenous aspects with internal modernity critiques (Kothari, Salleh, Escobar, Demaria & Acosta, 2019).
- 2.
FARC-EP is the Spanish acronym of Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces – People’s Army.
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Cruz, C.C., Ochoa-Duarte, A., León, A.L. (2023). The Amerindian Buen Vivir as a Paradigm for Another Possible Engineering Practice and Education. In: Fritzsche, A., Santa-María, A. (eds) Rethinking Technology and Engineering. Philosophy of Engineering and Technology, vol 45. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-25233-4_23
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