Track A – Science & Humanities

What can Albert Einstein teach us about literature?

What can William Shakespeare teach us about science?

How does literature and film influence our beliefs about global warming, space travel, and stem-cell research?

What can science and literature learn from the other? Do cultural prejudices, assumptions, and attitudes influence our investigation and interpretation of them? How does this important knowledge impact the way we view ourselves and our world?

To answer these and other questions, we will examine the writings of both scientific and fictional authors. The Two Cultures cohort explores the connection between the humanities and the sciences and the influence that this connection has on society. Through the study of physics, biology, and various types of literature, we will explore the differences, but more importantly the intersections of these apparently opposing schools of knowledge, to discover ways in which they mutually reflect, illuminate, and demystify the other.

The Two Cultures cohort offers humanities-based science courses that meet SUNY elective and transfer requirements for the non-science major. We aim to attract roughly equal numbers of students from both literary and scientific cultures – so artists, writers, scientists and the undecided are all encouraged to apply!