About The Team
The "In Distant Fields" team is comprised of five professors from Troy University each with a diverse background and skillset that lends itself nicely to a project as robust and dynamic as this.

David Carlson, PhD
Principal Investigator
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Robert D. Carlson, PhD, (Emory University, 2009), Project Coordinator and Principal Investigator, is a Lecturer of History at Troy University. His research interests include southern slavery, intersections of military and civilian experiences in the Civil War, and Confederate government and law. He is the author of several articles on conscription and citizenship in the Confederacy, co-author of Plain Folk in a Rich Man’s War: Class and Dissent in Confederate Georgia (University Press of Florida, 2002, 2004) and author of Congress of States: Proceedings of the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States of America, 1861-1862 (University of Alabama Press, 2023). Dr. Carlson will oversee the In Distant Fields project, administer the VLGP grant, coordinate with partner institutions, supervise student researchers, and perform research.​

Tim Buckner, PhD
Researcher
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Timothy R. Buckner, PhD, (University of Texas at Austin, 2005), Researcher, is Professor of History and Associate Chair of the Department of History and Philosophy at Troy University. His teaching and research focus on race, slavery, and masculinity in the American South. He is co-editor of Fathers, Preachers, Rebels, Men: Black Masculinity in US History and Literature 1790-1945 (Ohio State University Press, 2011) and the author of The Barber of Natchez Reconsidered: William Johnson and Black Masculinity in the Antebellum South (LSU Press, 2023), winner of the Jules and Frances Landry Award for 2023-2024. Dr. Buckner will supervise student researchers and perform individual research.

Karen Ross, PhD
Researcher
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Karen D. Ross, PhD, (University of Minnesota, 2006), Researcher, an Associate Professor of History at Troy University. An expert in the history of science, technology, and medicine, her research centers on the development of medical research in the United States in the early twentieth century, particularly at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, and the laboratory as a center of knowledge production. Dr. Ross has a manuscript in progress that analyzes how medical scientists in the United States responded to antivivisection campaigns in the 1920s and '30s. Dr. Ross will supervise student researchers and perform individual research.

Avie Medieros
Researcher
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Avington Medeiros, EdD, (University of West Alabama, 2023) Partner School Coordinator, is a Lecturer of History and Coordinator of History Education at Troy University. She is a specialist in rural education, teacher preparation, and History and Social Studies education. Dr. Medeiros will coordinate logistics with partner institutions and create lesson plans.

Chris Stagl
Creative Director
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Christopher Stagl, MFA, (Florida Atlantic University), Graphics and Public Media Coordinator, is an Associate Professor of Graphic Design and Assistant Chair of Art & Design at Troy University. He also serves as Education Chair for the Montgomery [Alabama] Advertising Federation. His design interests lie in typography, identity, video, and storytelling. Mr. Stagl will supervise design students and coordinate the production of all public history media.
Students that assisted Mr. Stagl with the success of this project include Kavarian Outlaw, Uyen Le, Maddie Ashendorf, Alex Ashendorf, and Stuart Blake.