Week 1: Two Cultures

Charles Percy Snow bridging the gap between Humanities and Science.

I found this week’s discussion on the emergence of Two Cultures(the Arts and Sciences) particularly interesting because of the indecisiveness I experienced throughout my academic path at UCLA. I found myself relating with the feelings expressed by Charles Percy Snow in his essay “The Two Cultures and The Scientific Revolution”.  He found himself in a conflicting position, because “By training [he] was a scientist: by vocation [he] was a writer” (1). I was able to relate with this lack of belongingness when I first arrived at UCLA, because in my past schooling I excelled in the science discipline, but always had enjoyed writing. This conflict was eventually resolved with the discovery of Psychology – I felt that it was a happy medium as a marriage between the science and humanities fields. 

UCLA Campus Map.

However, after reading Snow’s essay, I began to question why the struggle between these two fields even existed.  As a student pursuing her degree, I was forced to decide between two fields that were presented to me as distinct and even opposite.  This distinction was something I had internalized long before, showing the propagation of this divide throughout society. The discussion in Lecture III even discusses the stark geographical separation between the arts and sciences on our UCLA campus, keeping North Campus buildings for the Arts, and South Campus for the Sciences.  Prior to reading the materials from this week, I would have explained this as basic and practical organization of students and faculty.

The merging of science and art. Illustration by Corinna McAtee.

But now I am inclined to think otherwise – to question why there must be such an abstract and physical separation between the two. Especially when one can present a strong argument that the two fields in fact overlap, and would benefit from collaboration as discussed in Victoria Vesna’s article “Toward a Third Culture: Being in Between”.  I understand that there is a movement now to bridge the gap between these fields, but I also have come to believe that this cannot happen until both sides learn to not rely on the stereotypes that each hold for the other, and find a mutual respect.

Sources

Graham-Rowe, Duncan. "John Brockman: Matchmaking with Science and Art." Wired 03 Feb. 2011: n. pag. Web.

Krauss, Lawrence M. "An Update on C. P. Snow's "Two Cultures"." Scientific American. N.p., 06 Aug. 2009. Web. 09 Apr. 2017. 

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

"UCLA Space Management System." UCLA Space Management System. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2017.

Vesna, Victoria. "Toward a Third Culture: Being In Between." Leonardo. 34 (2001): 121-125. Print.

"Visualisation and Inspiration: The Merging of Science and Art." Lateral Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2017.