Collegiate Times

Cora Olson, a Ph.D. student and graduate assistant assigned to TWISTS, realized that being part of TWISTS means trying new things and that participating can be fun.

"On occasion, we're pushed outside of our comfort limits. And that's a really exciting place to be intellectually. And to remember, because (being pushed) undermines a lot of your assumptions to be pushed outside of those limits, and remembering to take pleasure in that I think are integral parts to TWISTS," Olson said.

Olson handles the logistics of the project and assists the three co-directors with research. She said she appreciates interacting with people from different backgrounds.

"One of the big draws of TWISTS for me is outreach and engagement with different types of publics. I got particularly turned on by the project in its commitment to multiple voices and making sure the performances embody multiple perspectives," Olson said.

Olson helps coordinate and spread the word about TWISTS workshops, like the one held on March 22 that focused on signing, and said they serve multiple purposes.

"There were things we could get to with sound, maybe effective things we could get to with sound, that words don't capture and that have value," Olson said. "I think  of the workshop process itself as a site of research."

Olson said while attending workshops she has learned more about other disciplines. By being part of "Living Darwin" she has learned that Darwin suffered from a stomach illness and more about social Darwinism and eugenics, the study or belief that society should encourage those with "favorable" traits to reproduce and discourage those with "undesirable traits."

"I was considerably less aware of Virginia's history in eugenics before this. I think that Virginia was, well, not a good state to live in at the time," Olson said.

For the research side of the project, TWISTS also focuses on personal narratives.

"Personal narratives are a very interesting way to get at that, that values both the scientists' experiences and 'lay people's' experiences in ways that if we were to just read out of a science journal don't," Olson said. "It's an integral sort of part of how we operate is always reaching across those borders and trying to make sure our boundaries are sort of fluid in terms of disciplinary boundaries and what we conceive of as knowledge."

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