Week 1 / Two Cultures / Blog Assignment
Alec J Goodwin
Professor Vesna
DESMA 9
April 1st, 2022
Two Cultures
The two reading assignments that I analyzed this week include C.P. Snow's journal article titled, "Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution" and Professor Vesna's academic journal, "Toward a Third Culture: Being in Between". In a quick summary, CP Snow's journal article explores the significant differences and challenges between humanities and sciences in the modern world. When deciding what’s best for the greater good, emotional and scientific hindrances often prevent unity and conformity. In Professor Vesna’s academic journal, she explores the feeling of feeling in-between cultural identity and uniformity. I for one identify as biracial, both Hispanic and white, and have challenges deciding which race best fits me. I oftentimes feel weird being categorized as “the white guy” when most of my Hispanic family view me as Hispanic, rather than white due to my upbringing and maternal roots. In social sciences, this is often referred to as the Latino identity crisis. Similarly, I view the north and south campus of UCLA as similar to that of the reading by C.P. Snow. The north campus's focus is primarily humanities, including my major, whereas the south campus is primarily science and math-based. Many students in the south campus feel as though north campus students “don’t work as hard” because they are dealing with complex analysis and modeling. In a similar feeling of resentment, North campus students feel that south campus students often can’t write an essay because they don't have to write as much as language arts majors. Just because one student isn't apart of one campus doesn't mean that they can't share values in the other. In reality, we all go to the best public university in the United States where we come together and constantly challenge our peers and ourselves. Moving forward, I think everyone can be more open minded about our differences,
In the articles, both were written in the first person which provides readers with a sense of trust and familiarity. Overall, I feel that the readings haven’t changed my perspective between both sciences and humanities because I have been accepting the importance of having both sides. I do feel that they benefit my overall thinking by reinforcing key concepts such as acceptance and being open-minded when dealing with new challenges and experiences.
How I often feel
Karsh, Robert S. “The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution.” JAMA, vol. 175, no. 11, 1961, p. 1027., https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.1961.03040110091040.
Smith, Peter Bevington, and Michael Harris Bond. “Cultures and Persons: Characterizing National and Other Types of Cultural Difference Can Also Aid Our Understanding and Prediction of Individual Variability.” Frontiers, Frontiers, 1 Jan. 1AD, https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02689/full.
Swidler, Ann. Culture in Action: Symbols and Strategies - JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2095521.
Vesna, Victoria. “Toward a Third Culture: Being in Between.” Leonardo, vol. 34, no. 2, 2001, pp. 121–125., https://doi.org/10.1162/002409401750184672.
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