Day 1:
discussion sessions
During the first day of class we discussed "The Two Cultures" by CP Snow. I started out the course this way so that students would understand the primary literature on this topic, as all subsequent publications and papers inherently or overtly reference Snow's seminal speech. Particular points discussed from the first chapter of his speech included:
- stereotypes and prejudice present about and of the arts and sciences
- the use of "two" as a powerful number in presenting an argument
- what has and has not changed since this speech was given in 1959
We also discussed the importance of language when it comes to talking across disciplines - some words are only know to art, or only to science, some words are known to both, but have different meanings. Throughout the course we were weary of overlooking this language problem, and took every opportunity to define what were saying to not only ensure mutual comprehension but to learn new useful terms across disciplines.
The second part of the first day was dedicated to presenting and discussing everyone's favorite art works. From Van Gogh's "Starry Night" to Escher to OK Go's latest music video, this discussion facilitated a deeper understanding of the student's inherent and diverse aesthetic tastes. As I did not explicitly tell them what 'kind' of art to present, it was interesting to note that most students chose a piece of visual art, with a handful of students choosing music, and one student who chose a poem.
- stereotypes and prejudice present about and of the arts and sciences
- the use of "two" as a powerful number in presenting an argument
- what has and has not changed since this speech was given in 1959
We also discussed the importance of language when it comes to talking across disciplines - some words are only know to art, or only to science, some words are known to both, but have different meanings. Throughout the course we were weary of overlooking this language problem, and took every opportunity to define what were saying to not only ensure mutual comprehension but to learn new useful terms across disciplines.
The second part of the first day was dedicated to presenting and discussing everyone's favorite art works. From Van Gogh's "Starry Night" to Escher to OK Go's latest music video, this discussion facilitated a deeper understanding of the student's inherent and diverse aesthetic tastes. As I did not explicitly tell them what 'kind' of art to present, it was interesting to note that most students chose a piece of visual art, with a handful of students choosing music, and one student who chose a poem.