College and university teachers nationwide are invited to apply for a 2011 NEH Summer Institute, The Role of Place in African American Biography, sponsored by Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, Williams College, and the Upper Housatonic Valley African American Heritage Trail. This 4-week institute will examine African Americans in New England from colonial days to the early twentieth century through exploration of individual biographies and the social history of blacks in New England through five representative lives. The Institute will feature guest lecturers in African American history, American history, literature, art history, and anthropology. The institute will be comprised of lectures, discussions, historic site visits, and opportunities for research.