Bebe Barefoot, a professor in New College, will give the 2011 Last Lecture, a series where a professor nominated by students gives a lecture as if it was the last one he or she would ever give.

Barefoot said she was surprised, overwhelmed and honored when she received news that she had been selected as this year’s lecturer.

“They notify you when you’re a finalist, so I knew a few weeks before that I was one of five finalists,” Barefoot said. “I was completely honored just being a finalist and never expected to be chosen.”

The selection process is important because it gives students a voice by allowing them to select the speaker, Barefoot said.

“The University prides itself in being student-centered, and this selection process is truly student-driven,” she said. “That’s why this is so special to me: students nominate and choose.”

Barefoot said her lecture will be based on the topic “Stepping Outside Self-Evident Limitedness, or How to Get Over Yourself and Join the Circus.”

“The quotation in the title is from Hugo Ball’s ‘Dada Manifesto’ and of course ‘circus’ is a metaphor,” Barefoot said. “I will talk about questioning the status quo and recognizing how conformity can stifle true creativity and happiness.”

Barefoot said the best part about the Last Lecture series is that she is able to give a traditional lecture, which goes against her usual teaching style.

“To me the word lecture implies that the lecturer’s voice is the only voice in the room and you cannot expect students to arrive at certainties, and not necessarily their own certainties,” Barefoot said. “That is not what teaching is about, at least not for me. It’s more about creating an atmosphere where students can consider possibilities, and that’s what I hope to do.”

Luke Martin, a senior majoring in English, said he was looking forward to Barefoot’s lecture as a preview of what his class with her next semester will be like.

Barefoot received her bachelor’s degree in English from Troy State University in 1985 and her master’s degree in English from Auburn University in Montgomery in 1995.

The lecture will take place today at 6 p.m. in Lloyd Hall Room 38. Students, faculty, staff, alumni and the Tuscaloosa community are invited to attend the presentation.

If You Go

What: 2011 Last Lecture by Bebe Barefoot

Where: Lloyd Hall Room 38

When: Today at 6 p.m.