Two Cultures Blog Post
I have always noticed differences, and separation between the Humanities and Sciences, especially when I began attending college. As explained by C.P. Snow, the Stem students and Humanities rarely crossed paths outside of general ed courses at my school. I am a student at UC Santa Cruz. The school is divided up into ten smaller colleges, each with it's own theme and course list.Toward a Third Culture, the problem here was a lack of understanding and proper communication, which I attribute to the minimal socialization and integration with people outside of one's own area of study.
Some themes are related to science, or environmental studies, while others are related to the arts and social justice. Additionally, the different departments are placed in or near these colleges. When I committed to UCSC I was required to choose which college I wanted to live in. There were many factors that could have influenced my decision. I ultimately chose to live in the newer college, because I wanted a nicer dorm and dining hall. The theme of my college was social justice and community, which I found to be interesting, though not directly related to my major, which is art. I could have chosen to live in the college with the art theme, but decided against it because I did not like the dorms.
When I moved in I was shocked to realized that I was a bit out of place in my living area. Most of the people on my floor were computer science or biology majors. I believe I was the only art major in my building. Everyone I talked to was surprised that I was majoring in art, and asked why I didn't choose to live in the art themed college. I didn't even realize how segregated by major my school really was until I had arrived. I hardly ever went to the colleges that were geared towards stem majors, and I didn't make any friends within my own major because I didn't live near anyone that shared the same courses with me. It was a very isolating experience in some ways, and I found it sort of counterproductive to set up a university in that way. Students rarely socialized outside of their own college, or neighboring college, so each college was sort of in its own social bubble, and there was little room for expanding outside of that. So I would say that the existence of two cultures was very present on my campus. When I was in the midst of my first year I didn't contemplate this much, but now looking back and after reading through Snow's essay I can see how negative this concept can be. I was especially uncomfortable interacting with science major, because any time I told someone I was an art major they would often give me a strange look or ask "what I want to do" with my degree. C.P. Snow said that, "Non-scientists tend to think of scientists as brash and boastful" (5). This was truly how I felt about science majors, because what little interaction I had was brief and often negative. As mentioned In Vesna's essay, this was probably due to a mutual misunderstanding and lack of communication between the two areas of study.
Sources
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 (2001): 121-125. Print.
College Ten at UCSC, which has a social justice theme
and houses the social sciences department.
Some themes are related to science, or environmental studies, while others are related to the arts and social justice. Additionally, the different departments are placed in or near these colleges. When I committed to UCSC I was required to choose which college I wanted to live in. There were many factors that could have influenced my decision. I ultimately chose to live in the newer college, because I wanted a nicer dorm and dining hall. The theme of my college was social justice and community, which I found to be interesting, though not directly related to my major, which is art. I could have chosen to live in the college with the art theme, but decided against it because I did not like the dorms.
Porter College at UCSC, which has an art theme, and is located
near the art department.
When I moved in I was shocked to realized that I was a bit out of place in my living area. Most of the people on my floor were computer science or biology majors. I believe I was the only art major in my building. Everyone I talked to was surprised that I was majoring in art, and asked why I didn't choose to live in the art themed college. I didn't even realize how segregated by major my school really was until I had arrived. I hardly ever went to the colleges that were geared towards stem majors, and I didn't make any friends within my own major because I didn't live near anyone that shared the same courses with me. It was a very isolating experience in some ways, and I found it sort of counterproductive to set up a university in that way. Students rarely socialized outside of their own college, or neighboring college, so each college was sort of in its own social bubble, and there was little room for expanding outside of that. So I would say that the existence of two cultures was very present on my campus. When I was in the midst of my first year I didn't contemplate this much, but now looking back and after reading through Snow's essay I can see how negative this concept can be. I was especially uncomfortable interacting with science major, because any time I told someone I was an art major they would often give me a strange look or ask "what I want to do" with my degree. C.P. Snow said that, "Non-scientists tend to think of scientists as brash and boastful" (5). This was truly how I felt about science majors, because what little interaction I had was brief and often negative. As mentioned In Vesna's essay, this was probably due to a mutual misunderstanding and lack of communication between the two areas of study.
Many bridges can be found all over UCSC, connecting the many departments. Each
department is fairly isolated, and often surrounded by forests.
Sources
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 (2001): 121-125. Print.
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