"Ultimate Frisbee and the Woman Inside Me," might sound like an unlikely lecture topic, unless it’s Thursday Chapel. Dr. Eric Freeze delivered Thursday’s Chapel Talk that was really about inclusion.
You can hear Freeze’s entire Chapel Talk on iTunesU.
"Inclusion and trying to understand others is one of the most important parts of what a liberal arts education can be," the Canadian native and tenure-track English professor said.
Freeze teaches creative writing and American literature. He spoke of his years growing up in Southern Alberta, Canada, and of how the area was particularly inclusive. He described it as a male-dominated area big on sports. So as the kid who played instruments and wrote poetry, he’d find himself not always fitting in.
He went to Brigham Young University in Utah and completed his masters in African American Women’s literatures. He completed his PhD in fiction writing at Ohio University.
He became interested in female literature and said the reading expanded his world view. He discussed the ability to read different texts and understand different peoples’ perspective. "We have an obligation to try to understand that perspective. That obligation is essential to a liberal arts education."
It goes beyond the classroom to recreation as well. A big Ultimate Frisbee player and fan, Freeze talked about Frisbee games with townies, children, and college students. The male college students often dressed in skirts for the Frisbee games.
The Frisbee games became a gender-appreciation experiment while getting a little exercise.
He topped off his talk with a Frisbee toss, "just because I think that would be really cool."