Week 1

I want to be a web developer, which means I’m always thinking about both design and tech. But instead of going down the science or engineering route, I chose the design and arts path. Sometimes that choice feels like it’s seen as “less than,” even though it still takes a lot of problem-solving and technical skill. This course and especially the readings from this week really helped me understand where that divide comes from, and why it’s still a thing.

When you walk from North to South Campus at UCLA, the split is obvious. The arts and humanities are up north, and the sciences are down south. It reflects what C.P. Snow talked about in The Two Cultures, how people in science and people in the humanities don’t really talk to each other, even though we’d all benefit if they did. Victoria Vesna’s idea of a “third culture” really stuck with me. She says people who work with tech and creativity like artists using science are building a bridge between the two sides. That’s exactly where I feel like I am. I also found it helpful reading about how STEAM (adding Art to STEM) is changing how we think about education. UCF talks about how this mix encourages creativity and innovation. The National Endowment for the Arts gives real examples of art-science collaborations working well. And Harvard Business Review explains how design thinking brings empathy and creativity into tech.

Seeing the split on campus made me more sure of the kind of work I want to do—something that blends logic and creativity. I want to be part of that “in-between” space where both sides meet and new ideas can grow.

I wanted to specifically include these images because as a DESMA major the Broad Art Building which is where most of my classes are. And the South Campus picture is the only place I really end up going to when I go to that area on campus. As well as the direction map of that walk. 

Works Cited: 

“Broad Art Center UCLA.” images.app.goo.gl, https://images.app.goo.gl/fqSHijShTYTEN93o9. 

 “South Campus UCLA.” images.app.goo.gl, https://images.app.goo.gl/qMY31hmsVPhYHAZj6. 

UCLA Campus Map Navigation.” 

Snow, C. P. The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. Cambridge UP, 1959.

Vesna, Victoria. “Toward a Third Culture: Being in Between.” Leonardo, vol. 34, no. 2, 2001, pp. 121–125. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1577014.

“Comparing STEM vs. STEAM: Why the Arts Make a Difference.” University of Central Florida Online, 2019, www.ucf.edu/online/engineering/news/comparing-stem-vs-steam-why-the-arts-make-a-difference/. 

“5 Times Art + Science Collaborations Made Perfect Sense.” National Endowment for the Arts, 2015, www.arts.gov/stories/blog/2015/5-times-art-science-collaborations-made-perfect-sense. 

Liedtka, Jeanne. “Why Design Thinking Works.” Harvard Business Review, Sept.–Oct. 2018, hbr.org/2018/09/why-design-thinking-works.