Week 1 | The Division Between Two Cultures
My name is Bailey DiMartino and I am a fourth-year political science student. After reflecting on the two readings about the two cultures and the emerging third culture, I feel that I fall somewhere in between the two cultures because while I do tend to rely on science I also have an appreciation for literature and art. This course is relevant to my academic path because it widens my horizon and gives me the opportunity to learn about new topics that I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to learn in my typical political science courses. I also believe that this course is beneficial and relevant to my personal path due to the fact that I have an interest in art but I also have a strong interest in science, and it would be interesting to take the time to focus on this course and learn more about the relationship between these two cultures.
[Figure 1.] Illustration of my school major
The materials that I reviewed that most influenced my understanding of this week's topic were both of the readings because they went into detail explaining the differences and similarities between the two cultures and the third culture. I see these two cultures in my immediate world every day, especially in school at UCLA because there seems to be a significant divide between students who are pursuing fields in science and those in the arts or literature. As C.P. Snow mentioned, there can often be a certain attitude between the two cultures, the scientists thinking they are better or know more than the artists/literary scholars and vice versa.
[Figure 2.] The culture divide at UCLA, North and South campus
I see these attitudes in school every day, and these readings really changed my perspective toward these behaviors. As a result of these readings, my perspective has shifted because I now understand that these negative attitudes between the two cultures are often a result of misunderstanding and lack of communication.
[Figure 3.] Illustration of working together
These new ideas benefit me because I feel that they make me more compassionate and understanding towards both cultures because I now understand that communicating is the best way to solve this significant divide.
Text Sources:
Amsen, Eva. “Sixty Years after ‘the Two Cultures’, Is Science Still Isolated from the Arts
and Humanities?” Forbes , Forbes Magazine, 10 May 2019,https://www.forbes.com/sites/evaamsen/2019/05/10/sixty-years-after-the-two-cultures- is-science-still-isolated-from-the-arts-and-humanities/?sh=3257cdc31984.
Dizikes, Peter. “Our Two Cultures.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 19 Mar.
2009, https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/books/review/Dizikes-t.html.
Snow, C. P. (Charles Percy), 1905-1980. The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution.
New York :Cambridge University Press, 1959.
“The Split between Scientists and Writers.” Subscribe to Read | Financial Times,
Financial Times, https://www.ft.com/content/3a2dfeb6-3b5e-11de-ba91-00144feabdc0.
Vesna, Victoria. "Toward a Third Culture: Being In Between." Leonardo. 34
(2001):121-125. Print.
Image Sources:
[Figure 1] Jmc. “What Can I Do with a Political Science Degree?” DegreeQuery.com,
DegreeQuery.com, 27 Mar. 2023, https://www.degreequery.com/political-science-degrees/.
[Figure 2] “A Campus Divided.” PRIME,
https://prime.dailybruin.com/justinnorth&southcampus.
[Figure 3] Shaikh, Aijaz A. “A Brief Guide to Research Collaboration for the Young
Scholar.” Elsevier Connect, Elsevier, 30 Aug. 2019, https://www.elsevier.com/connect/a-brief-guide-to-research-collaboration-for-the-young-scholar.
Hi Bailey!
ReplyDeleteI think it's interesting to attribute so much of the divide between cultures to misunderstanding. I definitely agree that it's easy to not give the other "culture" the proper respect if we don't understand its importance or how it is vital even to our own field. When it comes to the culture at UCLA, I wonder if it also has to do with pride. Since many UCLA students were very high-achieving in order to be admitted to UCLA, I think we can tend to be quite competitive, though maybe not as competitive as some other schools. Sometimes, it seems like this can cause us to be a little more dismissive of other people's fields since we want to think that we are working the hardest or doing the hardest work. I think it's interesting to think about, although this might apply more to the college bubble. In the real world, I think that we are often exposed to an even broader range of people and fields, so communication becomes a bigger contributor to the divide.
Hi Bailey,
ReplyDeleteGreat blog, I really think there are far fewer students that appreciate both sides of literacy/art and science. Mainly being that most STEM majors don't ever touch any part of the Northern campus or take any classes in those departments because they are heavily involved in their major. I think however it is a great opportunity to try and take those classes that help you get a better perspective of both cultures like you mentioned. With out a perspective of both sides there will aways be a lack of communication and negative attitudes between the two cultures.