Abstract

MENDEZ, Nelson. MILESTONES IN THE SOCIO-HISTORICAL PROCESS OF VENEZUELAN ENGINEERING 1958-1998. Rev. Fac. Ing. UCV [online]. 2010, vol.25, n.2, pp.51-66. ISSN 0798-4065.

We present a detailed register of events, circumstances and protagonists involved in the evolution of engineering in Venezuela in the latter part of the twentieth century from 1958 to 1998. The first date was chosen as, with the end of the military dictatorship, it marked a transition between quite distinct socio-economic and politico-institutional phases in our contemporary history, a fact that has been widely accepted and recognized as such in research on the subject. The closing date also appears to signal a moment of change, even though this is still under debate mainly due to it being so recent. Our inventory of events is a necessary step towards building a holistic vision and interpretation of a fundamental period in the history of engineering in the country which, in turn, helps us to understand engineering today and what it may become in the future. The value of this study is that it provides a compilation that has not been previously presented in this way, both for the relative proximity to the present of the period covered and because other efforts have tended to concentrate on specialized areas rather than give a broad view of the development of Venezuelan engineering

Keywords : Venezuela; History; Engineering; Engineers; Technology; Social change; Technological change.