by C.P Snow’s 1959 book Two Cultures exposed us to the idea of dueling cultures in science: social sciences, like humanities and psychology, vs. more “logistic” sciences, such as engineering, chemistry, mathematics, and biology. Snow noted that a great schism is present between the two groups, despite all being under the umbrella of science. A clear split between the personalities, ambitions, goals, and thinking of the two groups can be observed, with no real bridge that binds them together. Snow’s writings prompted me to think about the “cultures”, or groups that I belong to on the Colby campus. On top of that, I also began to wonder what subcultures may exist within these cultures that I may belong to. After some consideration, I decided that academics and athletics are the biggest two cultures on the campus, and that I could work on the subcultures from there. As a football player and Government major, my two largest groups are predetermined by these characteristics, which could potentially be caused by my personality, interests, and friend group. After reading C.P Snow’s Two Cultures, I have examined my own lifestyle and determined that I belong to 2 distinct cultures on the Colby campus, with a complex variety of subcultures.
Colby, like many colleges, has two distinct cultures: academics, and sports. As a student athlete, this label can very much determine what cultures I will be a part of on campus, even before I arrived last year. I am a member of the football team, which clearly identifies me in the “sports” culture, but I believe that we can dig deeper than that. Within sports culture, there are many distinct qualities that will separate sports teams into subcultures based on similarities within teams. For example, the football team and men’s hockey team may be thought of to be in similar subcultures because of their large roster sizes, the physicality of their games, and the bond and brotherhood-like relationship that forms within the team. The hockey and football team would have much more in common than, per say, the hockey and golf team. This can also be seen within the behavior of the players on both the hockey and football teams, who are more outgoing, stern, and a bit more aggressive. These variations of team cultures within the umbrella of sports teams on our campus shows that subcultures are certainly taken into account when discussing one’s role in the sports community. That is why when asked “do you play any sports?”, the conversation does not typically end at “yes”. The person wants to inquire more about your athletic standing in order to paint a more vivid picture of your personality and characteristics based on the subculture of sports that you may exist within, which can be drastically different when looking at a variety of sports.
Perhaps the most defining culture that students at Colby will belong to is their academic major. Their focus of study will allow them to meet a variety of professors, be exposed to new ideas, network, and many more opportunities throughout their time in a specific department. As a Government major (relatively newly announced), I am now focusing my course curriculum on the classes that I need to fulfill my major. This now means that I will be taking classes with people who are doing the same, leading to similarities in academic interests, and perhaps even similar personalities and interests outside of the classroom. An interesting point to note is the polarization of my academic subculture throughout my time at Colby. As the years go on, I will be taking classes with the same people and learning more material that is directed to my own interests, which will lead me towards this subculture exclusively, and farther away from other academic subcultures. This could be a great example of how the “schism” of cultures can exist, as Snow highlights the great gap in his writings. However, some other subcultures, such as history, may be able to get along with government majors, as well as economics. Personalities within my subculture may still be very different, with only our major as a connector within the culture. Regardless, my academic subculture plays a large role in my college experience.
Despite football and Government being my largest subcultures, that does not deduce the fact that I am part of the Colby community. It is important to remember that everyone on the campus physically and virtually has the qualities that make up a Colby student, and that our diversity in interests and personalities are what make the campus excel. I would also encourage people to leave their comfort zone and interact with other people in different academic and sports cultures, and even partake in cultures beyond these two major ones. By reaching out of our designated cultures, we can avoid the polarization of cultures on campus over time.