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Week 1: Two Cultures

After reading and listening about the separation of two cultures it made me immediately think of an assignment I had last quarter in Communications 1: an Introduction to public speaking. On the first day of class the professor asked us to think about whether or not public speaking is an art or a science. I immediately thought to myself that it was strictly I science. As the class continued I began speaking and writing my own speeches I realized it wasn't that simple. There is no clear separation between art and science. In order to give a speech you need to have the science of being able to include all the components and the right structure combined with the art of the delivery. 


C.P. Snow argued that the curriculum of schools is the room of the problem and the more I think about it the more I agree with it. From elementary school to high school science classes were always mandatory to take and arts were electives. From a young age I always thought of art as a fun activity that didn't have much of an importance towards my education. I took one art class in high school and thought of it as an easy class just to get an A. Although, I was taking one to two science classes every year both because I had to and because I thought it would help me more later in life. It wasn't very often that the two would be combined in the same class. There were few times where art would be involved in my science classes but almost never science in art classes. 

Stereotypes are more present in my own mind than I thought. I have to friends from high school whom I've know my entire life who now attend art school in New York. When they left for school I thought all they would be doing in class was drawing, I soon realized how wrong I was. They too have to take English classes and math classes. I believed that they would change immensely going to art school and I would no longer be like them anymore. By overgeneralizing them I distanced myself but soon realized they are still the same people they were before they left. An artist isn't their identity it is only part of them. By stereotyping artists I am forcing them into a small confined mold that doesn't fit everyone. 

Growing up I had always thought about science and art as two distinct cultures. Although, as I have grown up and experienced more in the world I have learned that they are closely linked in almost everything. The gap between the two cultures is slowly being bridged it is the education and stereotypes on the two subjects that needs to changes. The idea of being both an artist and a scientist like William Wavell should not be a crazy idea but rather a common one.

McNameeMay, Gregory, et al. “Erasing the Gap Between Art and Science.” Science, 11 Dec. 2017, www.sciencemag.org/careers/2001/05/erasing-gap-between-art-and-science.


Dizikes, Peter. “Our Two Cultures.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 19 Mar. 2009, www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/books/review/Dizikes-t.html.


Arike, Ando. Leonardo, 1 Jan. 1996, www.jstor.org/stable/1578601?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents


Vesna, Victoria. "Toward a Third Culture: Being In Between." Leonardo. 34 (2001): 121-125. Print.
Snow, C. P. The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. New York: Cambridge UP, 1959. Print.


Comments

  1. Bella BaiaApril 8, 2019 at 9:32 PM

    Isabella,
    I really like how you incorporated the homework from a previous class into this current class. This inclusion of material demonstrates your deep understanding of the topic being learned. In addition, I found it intriguing how you mentioned that Snow greatly discouraged the curriculum of schooling. How do you think schools could improve upon this implication? I was thinking that schools could maybe make art classes mandatory along with the science courses. Lastly, I like how you mentioned stereotypes and then related it to your own personal life. Stereotypes are very prominent amongst society and should be addressed.

    ReplyDelete
  2. SandraSoeDesma9April 11, 2019 at 1:14 AM

    Isabella,
    I also took Comm 1 and this past weeks assignment made me really think about the paper we had to write. There is so much more to something just being an art or a science and we must really take a step back to really understand it all and look at it from a different perspective.

    ReplyDelete

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