YulianagarciaDesma9 (first blog post -week1)
WEEK 1: TWO CULTURES
Welcome fellow bloggers,
Vesna and Snow view the two realms of science and art, as two cultures divided by perceptions and assumptions of each other's worlds that are subsequently entrenched and repeated across institutions. It's fascinating to see Vesna talk of a bridge between the two cultures; this "bridge" can only be sought by changing our paradigms regarding them. When it comes to art and science, we don't have to think of them as two different parts of the brain; "there is no left or right brain viewpoint" that determines whether a person is more imaginative or linear. There is a middle ground that allows art and science to coexist. Especially in today's world, where artists are using technology to create a new space where art and science collide to create something new.
During my time at UCLA, I have been guilty of contributing to the one-sided tale of the two cultures. Snow says of artists and scientists, “have a curious distorted image of each other.” (Snow 6) Given that we are divided not only by physical spaces on campus but also by learning environments. I am at fault for perpetuating preconceived assumptions between the two cultures: humanities students had "easy classes," while others on the other side of our campus faced a "more nuanced adversary of learning." Feeding this idea of South campus (stem majors) vs North campus (humanities majors).
With time, I've come to understand that my preconceived ideas that the two cultures must be rivals and that one are more nuanced than the other have been disproved. Given that this is my final year at UCLA, I've discovered that the two cultures are each diverse in their own ways and that there is sometimes intersecting information that adds to the broader picture. As a global studies major, I've discovered that the global world is full of dynamic networks that are all interdependent in some way. Wilson describes this similar ideology between science and art as "sometimes interrelated." (Wilson 2000)
When we read more about the underlying question that triggers this division, we know that it is the same educational institutions that instill this ideology. I've always maintained that each student is peculiar, with a unique way of understanding information and taking assessments. The educational framework is out of touch, as illustrated in the RSA Animation, and we need to change it and achieve a deeper understanding of students' skills and academic gaps. The new educational system emerged from a time of enlightenment and an industrial system in which humans functioned as machines simply to produce skills. In his interview Steven Pinker see's a changing time, the gap between science and art narrows, and there is an increasing need to represent this in our educational and societal norms.
theRSAorg. “RSA ANIMATE: Changing Education Paradigms.” YouTube, YouTube, 14 Oct. 2010, www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U&t=1s.
I really enjoyed your blog post. I think you touched on a harsh reality at UCLA: two separate campuses. UCLA facilitates two different worlds on campus, so if you don't make an effort to bridge the two, it's hard to see how often they interact. This is my last quarter at UCLA as well and I feel that over the past four years I have noticed that people from both North and South campus are less segregated and interact more. In contrast, when I was a freshman, I felt that both campuses were extremely different and did not support one another. The bridging of the two that I have observed over my years may be because of COVID. The end of my junior year and my entire senior year was online, so the presence of campuses were not a problem. People have a universal "campus", Zoom so maybe they don't feel the need to act separately.
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ReplyDeleteYour blog post was very relatable! I'm also in my last quarter here at UCLA and the split between these two cultures is visible in many ways as you state. When I initially came here to UCLA, the tension was much more present than today. Coming in as a South Campus major, this north vs south campus culture was introduced to me through my friends almost immediately and I never quite got the point of it but it was fun to have some of the friendly rivalry between the two. Over the years however, this split culture seems to have become less present and once Zoom came into the picture, this split culture seems to have dwindled into near nonexistence (for now). I only wonder how this split culture will continue once everyone comes back to campus? Regardless I also agree with you that the education system needs to change in order to better suite the interest of the individual student and not "factory-like" cohorts where you choose your major and fall into this split culture. - Timothy Sandoval
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