Week 1 Blog

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 Vesna stresses the importance of, and optimism for the possibility of building bridges between the arts & sciences. She states that universities are where much of this work takes place (Vesna 122). During Lecture, Dr. Vesna emphasizes CP Snow's dissatisfaction with the separation between the sciences and humanities (Vesna 1). Contrary to Snow's beliefs, polarization of the two cultures is very apparent at UCLA. The landscape surrounding the north and south campuses correspond to the stereotypes of art and science vocations. The North Campus, surrounded by trees and nature, complete with the sculpture garden, is located closer to nature. Meanwhile, the South Campus is located closer to the city of Westwood, surrounded by working professionals, businesses, and the hospital. The placement of the South campus is therefore associated with the fast pace life of business, healthcare and technology.  

Sculpture Garden (UCLA 1)


Medical School Building (UCLA 1)

Vesna discusses the importance of bridge building between the two cultures. However, recent technological advancements pose a source of further division between the sciences and the arts. Consider the use of AI. Some scientists may point to the possibilities and practical uses of AI, while artists may see this intrusion of technology into the art world as a threat– specifically relating to artists' sources of income. Photographer Jeremy Vesely echoes this point when he criticizes AI art as lacking human touch, being sterile and emotionless, lacking inspiration (Jeremy Vesely 1). 

AI Generated Art (Vesely 1)


Jeremy Vesely Photography (Vesely)


As both a writer and a scientist, CP Snow offers his conceptualization of the two increasingly-polarized cultures, the arts and sciences. Snow writes that there is a shared common culture in the sciences. He gives the example of a biologist and a physicist. While not understanding exactly each other's discipline, the two still share a common set of attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that unify them. While people outside the science community have a less of an understanding and even dismiss the culture of the sciences. (Snow 12). 

I believe that this categorization relates to Bourdieu’s conception of cultural capital (Oxford Reference 1). Bourdieu asserts that the bourgeoisie is divided into two elite classes, those with economic capital and those with cultural capital. Using Bourdieu’s framework, we can see that the scientists, while diverse, are unified by a shared cultural capital of academia– which comes with its own shared set of social knowledge and understanding.


Works Cited

Cornell, Bridgers. “Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden | TCLF.” The Cultural Landscape Foundation, https://www.tclf.org/landscapes/franklin-d-murphy-sculpture-garden. Accessed 5 April 2024.

Oxford Reference. “Cultural capital.” Oxford Reference, 2024, https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095652799. Accessed 5 April 2024.

Snow, CP. THE TWO CULTURES AND THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION. CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, 1959.

UCLA. “Medical School | Visit | UCLA Med School.” UCLA Medical School, 2024, https://medschool.ucla.edu/about/plan-your-visit. Accessed 5 April 2024.

Vesely, Jeremy. “Artificial Intelligence Art: The Greatest Threat to Artists?” Jeremy Vesely Photography, 2024, https://www.jeremyvesely.com/gallery/artificial-intelligence-art-the-greatest-threat-to-artists/. Accessed 5 April 2024.

Vesna, Victoria. Lecture Part 1. 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNI7dF3DIAM.

Vesna, Victoria. “Toward a Third Culture: Being in between.” Leonardo, vol. 34, no. 2, 2001, 121-125.

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