Week 1 Blog (Symphony_Jackson_DESMA9)
Apr. 7, 2023
Hi everyone!
My name is Symphony and I am a pre-Human Biology and Society major at UCLA! Like many other students at UCLA, I have had to make the hike to buildings centered around humanities and arts, such as Melnitz Hall, the Broad Arts Center, and more. As someone who had only taken classes in buildings such as Young Hall, Mathematical Sciences Building, the Life Science Building, etc. The first time that I truly explored North Campus, was while I was on my way to Melnitz Hall for a film GE course that I was taking when I had an interesting revelation: North Campus is insanely different compared to what I am used to. Looking back on the culture shock with the knowledge that I have now, I can accurately attribute these differences to C.P Snow's theory wherein "two cultures" are split into two, of which one rarely understands what the other consists of (Snow 4,10).
First, there was an obvious change in infrastructure, as I would argue North Campus, and its basis in artistry, beautifies it.
Interestingly, this difference in architecture and atmosphere does not go unnoticed, as UCLA students have claimed that although there is no physical barrier between both sides of the campuses, when the invisible line is crossed, there is an obvious difference (Jung 2021). Jarringly, an institution such as UCLA, which is consistently ranked the top public university in the nation, adheres to the separation of different majors, which consequently would put students into boxes, stereotyping them, despite ongoing protests of this division. This separation assumes that science majors, for example, do not have the human capacity to be both scientifically and artistically advanced at the same time, which contributes to this traditional, standardized way of thinking in which people within either arts or science are synonymous thinkers (Park 2010).
Unfortunately, separating these two groups comes at the cost of our advancement as a society, as justice can be done to either discipline by being accessories to the other. By marginalizing and isolating each, the possibilities of shaping and furthering certain research agendas is rare (Wilson 2000). If one has doubts of the emergence of literacy in the combination of these two cultures, one can look at how both cultures intersect to create a separate culture: nerd culture (Kelly 1995). Consider pop culture successes such as Star Wars, Marvel, etc. It was necessary for each of these franchises to explore how the arts and sciences could combine to create an equally beneficial offspring, often based in technology.
Kelly, Kevin. “The Third Culture.” Edge.org, https://www.edge.org/conversation/kevin_kelly-the-third-culture. Accessed 7 April 2023.
Jung, Justin, and Nitya Tak. "A Campus divide | PRIME" PRIME, Daily Bruin, 2021, https://prime.dailybruin/.com/justinnorth&southcampus. Accessed 7 April 2023.
Park, Andrew. “RSA ANIMATE: Changing Education Paradigms.” RSA, RSA, 14 Oct 2010, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U&t=514s. Accessed 7 April 2023.
Snow, C. P. The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. At the Univ. Press, 1960.
Wilson, Stephen. “Myths and Confusions in Thinking about Art/Science/Technology.” College Art Association Meetings, https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/37499635/myths-and-confusion-in-thinking-about-art-science-dma-classes#google_vignette.
As a fellow STEM major I totally get what you mean about the difference just in architecture between North and South campus. You mention it "puts students in boxes," and sometimes it feels like South campus buildings are literally just concrete boxes. I also agree with what you said about how separating the two cultures does each a disservice, as many of the best things in life combine literary and scientific approaches. I think this is easy to see from the STEM perspective, as we participate in culture and media just like everyone else, whereas the role of the sciences in one's life can be taken for granted and not highlighted as much. Great post!
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