Week 1: Two Cultures
In relation to the idea of two cultures, I can confidently place myself among the science-based perspective rather than the art perspective of the spectrum. I am a second-year transfer studying biology at UCLA with a greater emphasis in Ecology. I have been surrounded by STEM majors for the majority of my college experience and the only times I was ever been involved with others in non-STEM majors were in courses that had nothing to do with STEM, for example, my Chicana Artists course. The relevance of this course to my academic pathway involves finding connections and ideas for connecting my field of science with art to solve real-world problems.
The material that most influenced my understanding was "Two Cultures" by Steven Pinker. When bringing up the ideas of how the "studies of the arts can be illuminated by what we know from psychology and evolution and brain science on the mental faculties that are necessary to create and appreciate culture..", it really struck me in the sense that we can use one field of study to, essentially, illuminate the other. This also leads to my aspiration where I am able to use art and my knowledge of science to solve problems in this world in relation to climate change and conservation. Using art can allow for an engagement with "the heart and the senses" to "break down big issues" in order for individuals to better understand the problems we need to quickly solve as Ellen Moyer states.
 |
|
Agnes Denes | Map Projection: The Snail (1978) | Available for Sale | Artsy. https://www.artsy.net/artwork/agnes-denes-map-projection-the-snail-1. Accessed 31 Mar. 2022.
Google. Exploring Timelapse in Google Earth. 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5W-zPqrGQWA. The two cultures are certainly separated and have developed tension between the two. As Snow stated that "...this cultural divide is not just an English phenomenon: it exists all over the western world" and the "only one way out of this: it is...by rethinking our education" was an interesting perspective that changed my thinking Institute on the Environment, University of Minnesota. A Song of Our Warming Planet. 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t08CLczdK4. References:
|
Your blog post is very interesting. Especially when you talked about how this course can aid in finding finding connections and ideas connecting science and art to solve problems. I agree with your point that art can be used as a tool for explaining ideas to people who would normally see science as unattainable or confusing. Art and science go hand in hand in education and your post does a good job of examining that.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your post. The idea you mentioned regarding using art as a tool to better communicate and "break down big issues" in a way that can be better understood really resonated with me. As a film major, I have seen the ways in which documentary film can shape public perspective on various important issues. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Ariana, I found your post interesting and was interested in how you mentioned how we can use on field of study to help us get a better understanding of a different study. Explaining how art and science use it together helped me get a better understanding of what they do to be heard by others.
ReplyDelete