Dear Colleagues and Friends:

We are offering a NEH Summer Institute “The Role of Place in African American Biography” to be held this summer sponsored by Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, Williams College, and the Upper Housatonic Valley African American Heritage Trail in the heart of the beautiful Berkshires in western Massachusetts.

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 led by Frances Jones-Sneed, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, Robert Paynter, U-Mass-Amherst, and Richard Courage, Westchester Community College, 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. The 25 participants will be drawn from across academic disciplines and institutions and encouraged to share their expertise and approaches to pedagogy. Space will be reserved for 3 advanced graduate students.

Applications are encouraged from teachers of a broad range of disciplines. Full-time college and University teachers working in public, private, and religiously-affiliated institutions in the United States or its territorial possessions are eligible; see the application guidelines for complete eligibility criteria. Successful applicants will receive a stipend of $3,300 to help defray travel and housing expenses. Completed applications should be submitted to the project director and should be postmarked no later than March 8, 2011. visit the website for more info and the application:  http://www.mcla.edu/nehinstitute/