The Evolution in Darwin’s World and Ours program focused on understanding the development of evolutionary theory in the context of the nineteenth century. Before our departure in early May, we spent the second half of Spring semester learning about Darwin and the influences in his life that lead to the development of his theory. When we arrived in England, we spent the first week in London visiting numerous museums and galleries. The second week was spent in Cambridge viewing the historical sites and museums.

Prior to my STEP project, I felt like I had a disjointed view of the world. Throughout the course of my education I had learned about ancient civilizations, like the Greeks and Egyptians, but I had never made connections between them all. Each subject was its own, I never considered how they may have interpreted the same topics or influenced each other. During my program, however, I had the chance to visit numerous historical museums and galleries, like the Victoria and Albert, the British Museum, and the National Gallery, and see the evolution of art and invention throughout time. I feel as if I now have a greater appreciation for art and the different forms of style throughout cultures.

For example, in the British Museum they had sections entirely dedicated to Greece filled with many of the sculptures and marble carvings of the time. The amount of detail that went into them was astounding. The artists were meticulous in their interpretation of the human form, highlighting the roundness and organic movements of the body. In contrast, the exhibits in the Ancient Egypt and Sudan department focused on a sharper, more angular interpretation.

In the Victoria and Albert, I spent most my time in their cast court. It was a large open room that housed a collection of casts of post-classical European sculpture. It was created to allow those who may not be able to travel the world, the chance to see many of its wonders. I enjoyed reading the description of each piece. There was one cast specifically that resonated with me, it was of the top of a young woman’s tomb. It showed her resting, and it wasn’t so much how she was laying or any particular thing about the style of the cast that moved me a certain way, it was the story behind it. She was around my age when she died, and her husband had the sculpture of her made. She likely had died from childbirth, and had who knows how many other children. Her life, and how relatively short it was, made me reflect upon my own. While she was married and having children, I have chosen to delay that part of my life and further my education. I am aware that we come from different times and different cultures, but we are still both twenty-year-old women, and it makes me wonder who she would have been if she had been in my shoes or who I would have been if I had been in hers.

In the National Gallery, I also saw an evolution of art and its subjects. Once again, many of the Greek or Roman paintings focused on realism, they included the rolls and bends of the human body, while pieces from later centuries and other parts of t
he globe took a more abstract approach. I also noticed a change in how people were represented. In early paintings, each person was positioned in a portrait stance, but in paintings from later years, the people were more dynamic. I learned about
the meaning behind objects in paintings. For example, in many pieces of only flowers in vases, those were to represent funeral flowers and any insects or small animals within the picture were to represent death. I also learned that in many religious images each saint had an almost “trademark” style, like they would always wear a certain color or hold a specific object, to help everyone understand who it was they were looking at. I had known before that there was symbolism in paintings, I had just never understood it or known many of the key ideas.

I think one of the most valuable transformations someone can have is a change in their mindset. I feel like now I see more relationships between the things I learn about and those I already know. I also feel as if I can connect myself more to the things I see, like art. Having the ability to do that will be extremely helpful in my personal goal of becoming a well-rounded and informed person. It will also help me in my professional goals. I am currently working on my research project and would like to continue working in research after I graduate. Being able to draw connections and take influences from the work of others, while in this case not necessarily artistic, is a fundamental part of research. In the future, I will be able to connect many of the historical works I have seen or learned about to my own goals.