Michelle R. Carter is an American historian specializing in the history of the American South, slavery, and emancipation. She is currently a professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin. Her research explores the complex relationships between slaveholding families and enslaved people, focusing on the dynamics of power, intimacy, and kinship. Her first book, *Southern Families at the Crossroads* (2001), analyzed these themes in depth, receiving widespread acclaim. Notable among her later works is *Living with the Dead* (2018), which examines the politics of historical memory and controversies surrounding Confederate monuments. For her fundamental contribution to historiography, Carter has received numerous awards, including the Frederick Jackson Turner Award and the Avery O. Craven Award. In 2018, she was awarded the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship, commonly known as a "genius grant," in recognition of her influence in the field of historical studies.