Week 1 Two Cultures

Blog Entry 1:

This week, as I was reading the articles and discovering how the two cultures, art and science are very different, I came to a realization that our culture is portrayed through what we were taught through educational forms. The discussion of art and science are different from the perspectives of different cultures and learning. Author, C.P. Snow, discusses the ideas of cultural separation and how western society is split up into two polar groups, intellectual life and practical life or natural sciences. He states “non-scientists have the impression that scientist are shallowly optimistic and unaware of mans condition and scientist believe that intellectuals are lacking in foresight” (5). He points out that the curriculum in schools are the sources of the problem of how people are viewing art and science. Victoria Vesna expands on Snow’s two cultures and the idea of a third culture known as contemporary scientists or the middleman. In lecture, she discusses how the separation of art and science leads many minds to ignore science and prevents us from solving the wealth gap from global stability. The gap between the rich and the poor.

In my culture at UCLA, I am a part of two cultures, an academic culture in the Social Sciences department and an athletic culture of being on the Women’s Volleyball team. My two cultures are managing being a student and an athlete. People look at the culture of athletes as being privileged with school and academics. They think athletes always have the easy route to things and don't work as hard as "normal students". This culture that I am apart of has been a prolonged creation since I was little.

In my other culture at UCLA, I am Sociology major and I am in the north part of campus which is the culture of social sciences. This part of campus deals with more of a culture that is known to be the easier major as compared to south campus which is math and science. After coming to UCLA, I discovered how our culture between majors is separated between two sides of campus. The cultures compete against each other to determine who is the better major. Overall, the perspectives of the students are based on the perspectives of people who create these stereotypes of these cultures of majors.

Resources

1. Bohm, D. "On Creativity." Leonardo 1.2 (1968): 137-49. JSTOR. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.

2. Rowe, Duncan. "John Brockman: Matchmaking with Science and Art (Wired UK)." Wired UK. 3 Feb. 2011. Web.

3. Snow, C. P. The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. New York: Cambridge UP, 1959.

4. Vesna, Victoria. "Toward a Third Culture: Being in between." Leonardo 34.2 (2001): 121-25. JSTOR. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.

5. Lecture I, Victoria Vesna, Week 1, Two Cultures

Images

Photo 1.
https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtp1/v/t1.0-9/12088251_10104933062455116_4204504285078412791_n.jpg?oh=d6dd87999a09ad6dbd29153383ac1333&oe=57BF8A69

Photo 2.
http://www.teencollegeeducation.org/2012/04/artist-friendly-and-urban-colleges.html

Photo 3.

http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/639579f82a77c194d38a1ae5609824d2e4d76fb0/c=0-0-2000-1500&r=x404&c=534x401/local/-/media/KSDK/KSDK/2013/11/04/1383600587000-wealth-gap.jpg