UCLA’s
separation of disciplines on its campus is analogous to society’s current
classification of people as left or right brained. One of the first questions you are asked upon
arrival at UCLA is whether you are a North or South Campus major. The left-brained or science majors reside in
South Campus and the right-brained or social science majors study in North
Campus.
C.P Snow correctly argues that intellectuals of today are becoming progressively divided by study due to the current school system. Universities force students to choose a major and for the most part students only take classes in that field. Despite the requirement of General Education classes, students are only receiving half of a well-rounded education. This massive inadequacy of the school system prevents students of today from fully achieving their potential of being “Renaissance Men”.
Growing up, I
was always thought of as a left-brained individual. I constantly chose to solve
puzzles over drawing; you can see below, from some of my childhood artwork,
that I wasn’t exactly a Michelangelo. However, I wish that someone had pushed
me to take the elective art courses offered at my school to improve the very
little talent that I possessed. Now, I
am a Business Economics major at UCLA (North campus, social science major)
feeling the all too real stratification between students. This sharp separation of fields causes
students to become competitive and proud of their specialization creating an
even deeper divide backed by institution, emotion, and culture.
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| Some of my 1st Grade artwork |
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Sources:
Eger, John M. "Right Brain/Left
Brain Thinking." Huffington Post 29 Mar. 2013: Web. 5 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-m-eger/right-brain-left-brain-thinking_b_2631704.html>.
Phi Mu Alpha. "North Campus." Michael
Mohlman. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Apr. 2015.
<http://michaelmohlman.com/?p=160>.
Phi Mu Alpha. "South Campus." Michael
Mohlman. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Apr. 2015.
<http://michaelmohlman.com/?p=156>.
Snow, C.P.
"The Two Cultures and The Scientific Revolution". Cambridge
University Press, NY. 1961.
Vensa, Victoria. Two Cultures Lecture
Part 3. UCOnline. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Apr. 2015.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FOEuxrwxd0>.
You mention in your post that you wish you had been encouraged to study and explore art when you were young. I find it interesting and a bit scary that children are so susceptible to adult cues and that a teacher's encouragement (or lack thereof) can drastically change a child's long term educational decisions. Your comment reminded me a a New York Times article that I read recently (http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/02/07/upshot/how-elementary-school-teachers-biases-can-discourage-girls-from-math-and-science.html) that discusses how girls, in particular, are less likely to pursue a career in the sciences because they do not receive encouragement in younger grades.
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