Week 1: Two Cultures

In today's society, the subjects of arts and sciences have stood on two different spectrums.  In Week 1's article, C.P. Snow focuses on the ideas of the two cultures with his personal experiences of how each side sees the other differently. What was most important in his article was that although the two cultures are traditionally considered complete opposites, they are more alike than they know. He states, "Most of the scientists I have known well have felt- just as deeply as non-scientists I have known well- that the individual condition of each of us is tragic" (Snow 6). Society has created a divide that affects everyday life, especially for college students.

ttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/an-update-on-cp-snows-two-cultures/

As a 3rd-year history major, I have genuinely seen the effect of the divided cultures. From judgment from my family, being a first-generation Latina, art degrees are considered a "waste of time" to diverse college environments. In fact, I never went to the south campus except for one class, which was on the border between north and south. The environment is entirely different, with the North campus being more spacious and architectural artistic than the South campus business-looking buildings. Even the professors instill in students that there is a rivalry between the groups. We have been conditioned through educational environments that we are entirely different cultures, but the articles by Vesna and Graham-Rowe focus on the slow, fragile "middleman" of the third culture,  giving an important new perspective (Vesna 122).  

https://prime.dailybruin.com/justinnorth&southcampus

 The third culture, according to Graham-Rowe's article, is an almost impossible culture that merges the two cultures so that instead of division, there would be unity  (Graham-Rowe 2). The truth is that the theory of a third culture can make a difference to students like me. Our generation can erase this harsh division by lessening the stereotypical differences, such as creative vs. scientific minds, which brings a wedge (Morgan). As "On Creativity" states, "[T]he scientist is perhaps not basically different from the artist ...who all want to create this sort of thing in their work” (Bohm 138). I believe these new ideas and perspectives can create a better learning environment that is essential for my career path so I can teach the new generations to be more in the gap than just one side. It can benefit our generation so we can develop and bring about new innovations instead of the stagnation period we live in.       

https://ime.springerhealthcare.com/art-vs-science-in-a-global-pandemic/  

       

                               

References

Nichol, Lee, and David Bohm. On Creativity. 1st ed., Taylor & Francis Group, 1998.

Danesh, Noah and Nitya Tak. "A Campus Divided." Prime from the Daily Bruin, 2021.

Graham-Rowe, Duncan. "John Brockman: Matchmaking with Science and Art." Wired, 2011.

Krauss, Lawrence. "An Update on C.P. Snow's 'Two Cultures'." Scientific American, 2009.

Morgan, Jules. "Art vs Science in a Global Pandemic." Springer Healthcare IME, 2020.

Snow, Charles Percy. The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. Cambridge University 

    Press, 1959.

Vesna, Victoria. “Towards a Third Culture: Being in Between.” Leonardo (Oxford), vol. 34, no. 

    2, 2001, pp. 121–25.

Vesna, Victoria. "Two Culture Pt. 3" Youtube. UCLA DESMA 9, 2012.