Two Cultures

Hello everyone my name is Rebecca Agpaoa and I am a first year math/applied science major. I was really interested in this class because although I have mostly a math brain, I have always been fascinated by the arts. I have always loved learning about certain historic people such as Picasso, Galileo, and Da Vinci because of their contributions to art and science. 

Prior to the beginning of this course, I have never really thought about the divide in art and science, nor I have ever really thought about how they go hand in hand with one another. I have learned in CP Snow's reading that art and science are areas that "hold considerably the most amount of human intellectual activity, there are societal conditions that separate arts and sciences." 

Professor Vesna explains that we can see the divide of art and science through institutions. Institutions such as universities have their beginnings through churches. Many schools that were established over three hundred years ago, such as Columbia were a reflection of church; however, as we can see now in UCLA, contemporary buildings have lost their traditional structure and more often reflect corporate structures. In addition, buildings at UCLA, much like other institutions, often are named after wealthy people who can afford to buy buildings and put them in their names, which even further reflect a wealth gap--initially mentioned in the lecture.

I enjoyed this example that Professor Vesna gave because it goes in hand with the idea of paradigm shift. While three hundred years ago, universities were founded through religious institutions, we can see now many years later that institutions such as UCLA have adopted a culture that is separate from its beginnings: a corporate culture. This perspective has changed the way that I view UCLA as an institution, not for the worse, but in a more clear manner. 

Cited Sources

Snow, C. P. (1960). The two cultures and the Scientific Revolution. At the Univ. Press. 

Vesna, Victoria. “Two Cultures.” DESMA9. DESMA9, April . 2023, Los Angeles, UCLA. (Lecture pt. 1) 

Vesna, Victoria. “Two Cultures.” DESMA9. DESMA9, April . 2023, Los Angeles, UCLA. (Lecture pt. 3) 

Photo References

Lim, Alexa. “Leonardo Da Vinci: Master of Art and Science.” Science Friday, 27 Oct. 2017, www.sciencefriday.com/segments/leonardo-da-vinci-master-of-art-and-science/.

Nytimes, graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2009/05/11/science/28166304.JPG. Accessed 6 Apr. 2024. 

“Marion Anderson Hall, UCLA Anderson School of Management: Higher Education/Research.” Engineering NewsRecord RSS, Engineering News-Record, 28 Oct. 2020, www.enr.com/articles/50220-marion-anderson-hall-ucla-anderson-school-of-management-higher-educationresearch.