A Theoretical Basis for Addressing Culture in Undergraduate Mining Education

Communicating across cultural difference is a challenge for the mining industry as its attempts to gain social licence to operate in the traditional territories of Indigenous peoples. Industry organizations affirm their intention to respect communities and to develop mutually beneficial relationships, but because an understanding of culture is not a part of the mining engineer’s expertise, this goal cannot be fully realized.  The undergraduate mining curriculum could address this deficiency through a critical study of culture and development of the dialogic communication skills associated with intercultural competence. Arguing that the epistemology of engineering is problematic in the cultural encounter, this paper examines, the ways in which disciplinary culture is transmitted and mechanisms for cultural change.  With the objective of producing interculturally competent mining engineers, it outlines application of critical theories to deconstruct the hegemony of engineering knowledge and of communication theories to support a culturally-competent and effective approach to knowledges.