Two Cultures, Norah Flatley

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The two cultures that CP Snow introduced in his 1959 lecture is something I've recently become interested in. Being an undergraduate freshman at a school as big as UCLA has allowed me to explore my options in

both the mathematics and science areas as well as the arts and humanities areas. I have starting to think about my future plans and I’ve been feeling like I have to pick a “side” even though I have interest in both cultures. After reading “Toward a Third Culture: Being In Between”, it gave me hope that I could find an in between, between the two cultures.  

In the articles the authors express their opinion towards the idea the there are two cultures, the science focused side and the art focused side and the lack of interaction between the two. I was inspired after reading the articles because they showed that the two studies do not have to be separate, but instead can influence each other for the best.  The third culture can be created through the balance of both arts and science. Science and art studies can coexist with positively impacting each other and inspiring the new generation.  

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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 34.2 (2001): 121-25. Web.

Online, UC, director. YouTube. YouTube, YouTube, 2 Apr. 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=39&v=4FOEuxrwxd0.

I see these two cultures very clearly in my day to day life. For example, at UCLA the campus is spilt into two different sides. The South side being more focused on mathematics and science classes, and the North side focuses on arts and humanities. The geographical layout of campus is a clear indication of the two cultures that I read about in the articles. C.P Snow’s article gave me a clear picture as to why society has made science and arts completely separate, and if they come together there can be dramatic improvement in both cultures. 

The article “Toward a Third Culture: Being In Between”, changed my thinking by sharing the idea that science and art studies can coexist with positively impacting each other and inspiring the new generation.  I am inspired after reading and watching the videos on the two cultures because it is clear to me now that the as I find what I am passionate about I do not have to pick a side to study.