Sunday, April 5, 2015

Unit 1 - Two Cultures

Charles Percy Snow's argument concerning "two cultures" argues that society is divided into science or art. I am in agreement with RSA Animate which claims that schools strengthen this idea.

Arriving at UCLA, one of the first distinctions made when touring the school is north campus and south campus. Math and science are on the south end of campus while humanities and arts are on north campus. As a geography major, I can say I've only been on south campus a handful of times and I'm sure many south campus majors say the same about visiting north campus. UCLA often times promotes contests between north and south campus, creating a sense of pride for each side of campus.


In my opinion, this creates an unhealthy learning environment where collaboration and collectivization of knowledge is not properly supported. Unifying as an institution to create a powerful hub of learning is what should be practiced, not separating or dividing. 


Generalizations are often times made about north and south campus. South campus majors think north campus is far easier than their end of campus. I disagree with this claim because everyone has their own preference to learning and excel at learning different topics. One of the reasons I took this class was to broaden my horizon and utilize the ability to explore new topics that interest me. Having the luxury to dive into a completely unexplored area of knowledge is a beautiful thing. In order for an educational institution to do well we must collaborate to mix our modes of learning and create a pool of knowledge that is accessible to all. 

Citations: 
1. Fifty years on, CP Snow's 'Two Cultures' are united in desperation (The Telegraph)
2. Festivals of Science and the Two Cultures: Science, Design and Display in the Festival of Britain, 1951. Sophie Forgan, The British Journal for the History of Science Vol. 31, No. 2, Science and the Visual (Jun., 1998), pp. 217-240
3. RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms
4. Separation Image 
http://www.rob.ox.ac.uk/radiatingoncology/all-about-cancer/what-does-it-take-to-make-cancer-a-killer/ignoring-messages-to-stop-dividing
5. North South 
http://www.toimg.net/managed/images/10029499/w200/h160/image.jpg
6. Split up Pic
http://howardnightingale.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/separation_divorce.jpg

1 comment:

  1. Building on the split between North and South campus, I believe that your ideas present examples of the video lecture regarding the state of our current education system. The separation in learning based on department serves as an obstacle in today's universities by making it harder to be able to express common ideas.

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