History and biography are inextricably linked and yet many instructors of introductory undergraduate and advanced high school courses resist including biographies in their reading lists and overall course pedagogy. The session will examine the ways in which biographies are and are not used in classrooms at both the college and high school levels. We will focus on the benefits and limitations of the genre with an eye for including a variety of perspectives. We seek to address questions such as, "Why do biographies appeal to students?" "Why don't more classes utilize them?" "How can instructors compensate for periods with limited source materials?" And "How can we manage the bias of hagiography?" Audience participation and commentary will be encouraged.