ReginakimDESMA9
April 05, 2024
WEEK 1: TWO CULTURES
(Yiyun Chen)
My name is Regina Kim and I am currently a second year Psychology major. The idea of “Two Cultures” originated from a lecture by an English author and physicist called Charles Percy Snow. In his lecture, Snow argued that there is a division between humanities and the sciences, which he identified as “two cultures,” and a hindered communication between these two spheres (Vesna, Lecture Part I). At UCLA, this concept can be observed in the division between the North and South Campus. North Campus mainly focuses on the humanities, arts, and social sciences, while South Campus focuses on science, mathematics, and engineering. Back when I was a freshman at UCLA, I encountered the concept of “two cultures” as I navigated through my academic journey. Initially admitted as a business economics major, I have found myself immersed in a curriculum that focused on quantitative analysis and economics. As I contemplated switching majors several times, I have been drawn to fields within North Campus. During this process, I perceived a division between the two cultures at UCLA. In South Campus, there was a sense of pressure of a traditional academic path, whereas in North Campus I have been drawn to the diversity offered by courses that recognized personal value and fulfillment. The architectural design also reflects the division between these two campuses. For example, buildings in North Campus feature a Romanesque, Gothic style of architecture whereas buildings in South Campus feature brutalist buildings (Kyle).
(Nitya Tak and Justin Jung)
In “The Two Cultures and Scientific Revolution,” Snow stated that “the young scientists know that with an indifferent degree they’ll get a comfortable job, while contemporaries will be lucky to earn 60 per cent as much” (Snow 19). Despite the perceived division and stereotypes between these two campuses, there is also potential to unite them. In “Toward a Third Culture: Being in between,” Vesna brings the idea of fostering a third culture by creating a new identity that intersects both science and art (Vesna 124). Just as Vesna discusses the importance of embracing ambiguity, students at UCLA can also embrace ambiguity in navigating between cultures and find a common ground between South and North Campus. Bohm stated that “the ability to learn something new does not depend on special talents'' (139). His idea of interconnectedness of ideas and exploring patterns resonates with the goal of bridging the two cultures.
(Breaking the stigma against Non-Stem Education)
Works Cited
Vesna, Victoria. “Toward a Third Culture: Being in Between.” Leonardo, Vol, 34, No. 2. (2001), pp.121-125
Bohm, David. On Creativity. Leonardo, Vol. 1, No. 2. (Apr., 1968), pp. 137-149.
Kotanchek, Kyle. “Gallery: Taking a tour through UCLA’s architectural history.” Daily Bruin, 1 May 2022, https://dailybruin.com/2022/05/01/gallery-taking-a-tour-through-uclas-architectural-history. Accessed 5 April 2024.
Snow, CP. “Untitled.” Center for Science and Technology Policy Research, https://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/students/envs_5110/snow_1959.pdf. Accessed 5 April 2024.
“Two Cultures Part 1.” YouTube, YouTube, 30 Mar. 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNI7dF3DIAM. Accessed 5 Apr. 2024.
Images
“Breaking the stigma against Non-STEM education.” Brainfeed Magazine, 23 April 2019, https://brainfeedmagazine.com/breaking-the-stigma-against-non-stem-education/. Accessed 5 April 2024.
“A Campus Divided.” PRIME, prime.dailybruin.com/justinnorth&southcampus. Accessed 5 April 2024
“BREAKING THE STIGMA AGAINST NON-STEM EDUCATION.” Wikipedia, https://asialink.unimelb.edu.au/calendar/the-two-cultures-a-forum-on-global-cultural-collaborations-with-art-And-science. Accessed 5 April 2024.
Hi Regina!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog about your experiences debating between the North Campus and South Campus majors/cultures. I totally resonate with what you said when you felt the academic pressure while on South Campus, I have felt the same way about my major and others around me and it is disappointing that our classes/our part of the campus cannot be more inclusive and cultivate more personal value like how you felt in North Campus. Being able to bridge these two clashing cultures with the "third culture" is definitely an interesting concept that I hope can also help find common ground between North and South Campus majors.
Hi Regina!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your response about your perspective of "two cultures" and how it applies to your life at UCLA. I also came into UCLA as a pre business economics major and I am now a communications major. I felt the idea of "two cultures" within North and South campus when navigating what major best fits me, although I think the idea of a third culture developing and bridging the two together would be super significant. Thank you for sharing!
Hi Regina! My name is Hyerin and I'm a math of computation major. I think we resonated at the same point of how different north and south campus is. As a south campus major, I do find that the buildings follow more of a STEM-ish architecture by being more modern while the north campus buildings are more artsy with traditional bricks. In terms of campus, I honestly think north campus is much more prettier even though I'm a south campus major haha. Thank you for sharing your post, I enjoyed reading it!
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