Week 1 : Two Cultures

Week 1: Two Cultures

April 7, 2019

“The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution” is a lecture I identify with my time here as an undergrad at the UCLA. Being a Bruin there is clear scarcity between the similarities one would identify South campus or North campus. North campus majors are normally those in arts/humanities meanwhile South campus majors consist of the hard sciences at the school. During my time here I tried to intertwine the idea of science and humanities by double majoring in Psychology and Sociology. Although many people don’t associate psychology as a science at UCLA many of the pre-requisites for the major are heavily science-based including Physics, Chemistry, Life Sciences, and the list goes on.

These UCLA campus map excerpts just go to show the lack of connection by creating such a separation between the scientific and arts buildings, exemplifying that they're two "separate" things when in reality the should coexistence.

Psychology is now considered a "bachelor of arts", although many of the requirements are science-based. The home of psychology, Franz Hall, is known as the "border" between North and South campus. This idea of having two totally different sides of the campus is the total opposite of what college is supposed to be about. College's main goal is for one to find themselves by exploring their options and open their minds. However, on UCLA's campus, it is set up where if you're major is on one side of campus you really don't have a reason to go to the opposite side which doesn't allow for students to gain new perspectives. The biggest problem within this is the fact that this issue isn't just a UCLA problem it's a UC problem – this is observed on most college campuses today and has yet to change over the past few years, displaying this idea of two separate cultures, even with the introduction of the “Third Culture”.

In the 20th century, we get to observe this gap between art and science slowly close. As Stephen Wilson pointed out, "Artists have been eager to adopt the fruits of technological research and others have been much influenced by the concepts and contexts of science." Unfortunately, the separation we once saw is becoming blurrier as the days pass whether we know it or not. Before this week, I've never thought of art and science as one or acknowledged their similarities. In my eyes, I saw them as two different cultures just as how they're displayed on my campus. I have not imagined the development of a third culture which brings new possibilities and creates new theories. 

Sources: 

 1. “Home.” UCLA Interactive Campus Map, University of California, Los Angeles, maps.ucla.edu/.

2. Krauss, Lawrence M. “An Update on C. P. Snow's ‘Two Cultures.’” Scientific American, 1 Sept. 2009, www.scientificamerican.com/article/an-update-on-cp-snows-two-cultures/.

3.Snow, C. P. “Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution.” Reading. 1959. New York: Cambridge UP, 1961. Print.

4.“The ‘Is Psychology a Science?" Debate.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/theory-knowledge/201601/the-is-psychology-science-debate. 

5. Wilson, Stephen D. “Myths and Confusions in Thinking about Art/Science/Technology.” College Art Association Meetings. New York, New York, 2000. Print