Week 1: Two Cultures

      As Mexican American having two cultures was somewhat difficult. I felt as if I was disappointing both. On one hand I have my Mexican culture that I am proud of because it instilled me the importance of family and hard-work. However, on the other hand I have my American culture that instilled in me the value of gender equality and independence. Therefore, causing an internal conflict of "Should I get married and have kids and therefore, make my parents proud " or "should I pursue a higher education and earn my own money and not depend on a man". Should I celebrate Dia de los Muertos and honor my parent's culture or should I celebrate Halloween? These were the questions I would ask myself as a child.

http://www.history.com/topics/halloween


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/01/dia-de-los-muertos_n_4184636.html
  


     Now as a young adult I no longer struggle with my cultures. I instead celebrate both because it has made me who I am today. C.P Snow presented the idea of two cultures in 1959.  He "identified the two cultures as those of literary intellectuals and natural scientists and he pointed to the curricula of schools and universities as the source of the problem"(Vesna 121). As a Anthropology Major I am able to see both cultures in action. The major itself is split into two. The first is the Bachelor of Arts whose primary focus is the study of culture through observation and integration, and the second is the Bachelor of Science whose primary study is more on the study of human evolution. Many students who are Anthropology Majors are separated by the two cultures. For example, many students who are B.A majors will not have class with these  of the B.S major because they are taking a different approach when studying their major. 





https://anthropology.tamu.edu/undergraduate-overview/undergraduate-degrees/

                                                 











                                                                    
http://www.weber.edu/socanthro/anthropology.html




                 

  








      It undeniable that the approach that B.A and B.S take in Anthropology are different. However, like Versna states this "communication gap" is being "triangulated and made more stable with...new technology"(Vesna 122). Which is indeed seen when Anthropology B.A majors use technology to map the changes of a culture. For example, their migration to place to place. Furthermore, Anthropology B.S are also using new technology when studying the DNA of human remains. The use  of new technology in both fields will allow the connection of B.A and B.s to become visual and therefore, stronger. 


   In the past I would always stray away from studying with people who were Anthropology B.S majors because I thought to myself that I could not help them and they could not help me. However, after this week I see that we use similar technology in order to study and map our research. 

Sources


Snow, C. P. “Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution.” Reading. 1959. New York: Cambridge UP, 1961. Print.








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