Week 1: Two Cultures

The idea of categorizing culture into two stems from C. P. Snow’s book, The Two Cultures and The Scientific Revolution. Snow posits that academia and intellectualism is divided into two cultures – science and humanities – which inhibits progress and overall advancement in intellect. Snow describes this polarization as a “..practical and intellectual and creative loss,” and describes situations where artists and scientists have failed to communicate well between each other. The implications of this polarization are found in not only education but also social atmospheres.

Victoria Vesna adds to this discussion by describing the Third Culture – the “transition,” or contemporary sciences that closes the gap between science and humanities disciplines. Her exposition on Snow’s idea of this Third Culture illustrates the necessity of this third culture in order to eliminate the intermediaries between science and art, and encourages collaboration between scientists and artists to move forward in thought and expression.

Reflecting on my time at UCLA, I can pinpoint times when I considered the divide between science and humanities and its implications on my future career. I have always been a creative thinker and greatly appreciate the arts, but from a young age I have understood arts and humanities careers to be less impressive than STEM careers. This divide is evident at UCLA through the North and South Campus majors, and I initially chose a technical South Campus major, but the lack of interest in the major led me to choose cognitive science as a major, which incorporates disciplines from both sides of campus. Through my background in psychology from my major classes and knowledge of STEM-related disciplines through the classes I took when I was considering the technical major, I am equipped to understand both sides of the divide, which ultimately contributes to my general intellect of the world.

Sources:
“20 Fun Facts about UCLA.” UCLA Luskin Conference Center, 5 Apr. 2018, luskinconferencecenter.ucla.edu/20-fun-facts-about-ucla/.
“Major Blast.” Major Blast - UCLA Residential Life, 2018, reslife.ucla.edu/majorblast.

“Photos of C.P. Snow - Author Profile Photo.” Goodreads, Goodreads, 2017, www.goodreads.com/photo/author/16027416.C_P_Snow.

Snow, C. P. "Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution." Reading. 1959. New York: Cambridge UP, 1961. Print.
Vesna, Victoria. “Toward a Third Culture: Being in Between.” Leonardo 34.2 (2001): 121-25. Web.