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Education
May 2021
PhD in History
University of Memphis
- Major field: France and Germany
- Minor fields: French Cultural Studies; Native Americans, Imperialism, and the Environment
- Dissertation: "Les jardins exotiques: Early French Romanticism and Its Impact on Travel Inspired Nineteenth-Century French Gardens"
December 2015
MA in French Language and Literature
University of Memphis
August 2015
MA in History
University of Memphis
- Thesis: "Chateaubriand and His Influence on the Early French Romantics’ Perspective on Nature"
June 2014
Lille European Summer Program
Université Catholique de Lille
May 2013
BA in History (with honors), Summa Cum Laude
Christian Brothers University
- Minors in French, Global Studies, and Sustainability
Research and teaching interests
Transatlantic history, Revolutionary Era France, French colonial history, Environment and imperialism, Romanticism, Ecocriticism, Garden and landscape history, History of botany.
Academic appointments
2023 to present
Assistant Professor of History
Bethel University
2023 to present
Adjunct Instructor, History
University of North Alabama
2021 to present
2022 to 2023
Upper School French and History Teacher
Saint Agnes Academy
2020 to 2022
Adjunct Instructor, History
University of Memphis
2020 to 2022
Adjunct Instructor, History
University of Tennessee Somerville
2016 to 2022
Instructor, History and Languages and Literature
Christian Brothers University
2020 to 2021
History Teacher
Southwind High School
2019 to 2020
Substitute Teacher
Margolin Hebrew Academy
2016 to 2019
Instructor, Languages and Literature
Southwest Tennessee Community College
2015 to 2017
Language Lab Coordinator, Languages and Literature
Christian Brothers University
2013 to 2020
Teaching Assistant, Department of History
University of Memphis
Publications
- Sanchez-Clapper, Kyra. "Botanophilia Correspondences During the Revolutionary Era." Network in Canadian History and Environment, May 29, 2023. Link
- Sanchez-Clapper, Kyra. Peer reviewer for Journal of Ecohumanism. Five articles, 2022 to present.
- Sanchez Clapper, Kyra. "Reading the Gardens at Vallée Aux Loups." Age of Revolutions, November 29, 2021. Link
Media and impact
- "Catching up with Kyra Sanchez Clapper." Networking with Plants in the Anthropocene, February 15, 2026. Podcast. Link
- "Kate Brelje interviews Kyra Sanchez Clapper." Networking with Plants in the Anthropocene, May 15, 2024. Podcast. Link
- Sanchez Clapper, Kyra. "Rebranding Political Parties in France." Vistas, May 2022. Link
- Sanchez Clapper, Kyra. "Ecotourism and Nationalism." Vistas, March 2021. Link
Book reviews
- David Macauley and Laura Pustarfi. The Wisdom of Trees: Thinking through Arboreality (Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2025), in H-Net Environment, June 2026.
- Clark, Timothy. The Value of Ecocriticism (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019), in Journal of Ecohumanism, forthcoming 2026.
- Hill, Christopher L. Figures of the World: The Naturalist Novel and Transnational Form (Northwestern University Press, 2020), in World History Encyclopedia, forthcoming 2026.
- Lehner, Ulrich L. The Inner Life of Catholic Reform: From the Council of Trent to the Enlightenment (London: Oxford University Press, 2022), in World History Encyclopedia, February 2023.
- Colta Ives. Public Parks, Private Gardens: Paris to Provence (New York, NY: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2018), in H-Net Environment, August 2020.
Research experience
February 2021 to June 2021
History Research Specialist, College of Law
University of Illinois
- Supported College of Law faculty with pre-industrialization historical research outside of law. Identified, organized, and gathered sources.
- Worked from historical sources and university library databases.
Spring 2019 to 2021
Graduate Research Assistant, College of Arts and Sciences
University of Memphis
- Collaborated with Digital Humanities Methods, a team of professors and graduate students studying how digital humanities work raises new questions across disciplines.
- Built Botanophilia Correspondences during the Revolutionary Era, a database of eighteenth and nineteenth century botanophiles.
July 2016 to August 2016
Graduate Research Assistant, Department of French
University of Memphis
- Gathered information for The Salons Project, a database of notable individuals and their attendance at salons.
Selected teaching
Bethel University
Age of Napoleon, Caribbean History Survey, Europe and the World, French I, French II, Intermediate French I, Intermediate French II, French Revolution, History of the US I, History of the US II, Human Cultures I, War and Conflict in 20th Century Europe, World War II and Holocaust
Christian Brothers University
Business French, Elementary French I and II, France under the Napoleonic Regime, French Civilization I and II, French Literature I and II, History of the French Garden, Intermediate French I and II
University of North Alabama (graduate)
Environmental Historiography, Europe since 1815, French Imperialism
University of Memphis
Elementary French II, Intermediate French I, US History since 1877, US History to 1877, World History since 1500, World History to 1500
Southwest Tennessee Community College
Elementary French I and II, Intermediate French I, World Civilizations to 1500
Southwind High School
Dual Enrollment US History since 1877, Dual Enrollment US History to 1877, Honors US History
Presentations
November 2026
Invisible Gardeners: Intermediaries and the Making of Botanical Knowledge, 1750 to 1850
European History Section, Southern Historical Society, Atlanta, GA
September 2026
Literary and Cultural Plant Studies in German Studies Seminar
German Studies Association, Phoenix, AZ
March 2026
The Plant Collectors Network of Revolutionary Era France
American Society of Environmental History, Kansas City, MO
March 2026
Visualizing Epistolary Botany: Networks of Knowledge in the Revolutionary Era
Southeastern American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, Jacksonville, AL
February 2025
Romantic Travel Accounts on American Fauna
Southeastern American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, Savannah, GA
February 2024
18th Century Studies Meets 21st Century Community Development
Southeastern American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, Greenville, SC
November 2023
Teaching History in the World Language Classroom
Tennessee World Language Teacher Association, Franklin, TN
February 2023
Mapping Botanical Exchanges During the Long Eighteenth Century
Southeastern American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, Decatur, GA
February 2022
Le Conservateur and Catholicism during the Second Bourbon Restoration
Revolutionary Era Consortium, Starkville, MS
November 2021
Arvor ha Argoat: Breton National Identity in Landscape Prose and Gardens
European History Section, New Orleans, LA (Panel organizer)
December 2020
Conducting National History Day Virtually
Lausanne Learning, Memphis, TN
February 2020
Transatlantic Botanical Exchanges during the Long Eighteenth Century
Southeastern American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, Macon, GA
October 2019
Romanticism and the History of the Garden in France and Germany
Dixon Gardens and Gallery, Memphis, TN (Invited)
October 2019
French and German Literary and Scientific Accounts of North and South American Landscapes during the Early Nineteenth Century
Western Society of French History, Bozeman, MT
May 2019
Returning to Nature: A Form of French Nationalism?
Annual Graduate History Symposium, Toronto, Canada
April 2019
Botanophilia Correspondences during the Revolutionary Era
Digital Humanities Methods, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN
March 2019
Chateaubriand: The Gardener
Revolutionary Era Consortium, Atlanta, GA
March 2017
ASEH Graduate Student Writing Workshop
American Society of Environmental History, Chicago, IL
September 2016
Analyzing Chateaubriand from an Ecocritical Perspective
FREN 6413 Guest Lecture, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN (Invited)
March 2016
Tocqueville's America
HIST 2010 Guest Lecture, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN (Invited)
March 2016
ASEH Graduate Student Writing Workshop
American Society of Environmental History, Seattle, WA
October 2014
The Conflicting Perspectives of Early French Romantics on Native American Cultures
Graduate History Student Conference on Power and Struggle, Tuscaloosa, AL
September 2014
The Early French Romantics’ Perspective on Nature: From Rousseau to Chateaubriand
Mid-America Conference on History, Fort Smith, AR
March 2012
Charles Dickens and His Role in Prison Reform
Phi Alpha Theta Regional Conference, Murfreesboro, TN
Service and outreach
May 2027
Global Studies, Faculty Leader, Maymester in France
Spring 2025
Global Studies, Faculty Co-Leader, Study Abroad Program in Paris
2024 to present
History Department, History Program Coordinator, Bethel University
2024 to present
Board Member, Digital Media Manager, SEASECS
2024 to present
European Section, Membership Committee, Southern Historical Association
2022 to 2023
French Club, Faculty Advisor, St. Agnes Academy
2019 to 2022
French Club, Faculty Advisor, Christian Brothers University
2011 to 2022
History Day, Judge, University of Memphis
2019 to 2021
Graduate History Association, Council Member, University of Memphis
2017 to present
Educational Testing Service, AP World History Reader
Spring 2016
Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, Reviewer
Spring 2016
History Department, Study Abroad Translator in France
2014 to 2015
Phi Alpha Theta, Graduate President, University of Memphis
2014 to 2015
Graduate History Association, President, University of Memphis
2011 to 2013
Phi Alpha Theta, President, Christian Brothers University
2012 to 2013
Memphis Heritage, Associate Board Member, Christian Brothers University
Fellowships, awards, and grants
Spring 2026
National Science Foundation Travel Grant
Fall 2022
Francille Berquist Professional Development Scholarship
Summer 2021
Memphis Tilth Food Systems Fellow
Spring 2020
Graduate Student Travel Grant, SEASECS
2019, 2020
Dr. William and Helen Lucile Gillaspie Scholarship
Spring 2019
Dissertation Fellowship, Marcus Orr Center for the Humanities
2018, 2019
Graduate Awards Committee Fall Research Funding, University of Memphis
Fall 2018
College of Arts and Sciences Travel Enrichment
2014, 2018
Graduate Awards Committee Summer Research Funding, University of Memphis
2015, 2018
Graduate Awards Committee Spring Research Funding, University of Memphis
2014
Study Abroad Graduate Scholarship, University of Memphis
2013 to 2020
Graduate Student Teaching Fellowship, University of Memphis
2013
Outstanding Phi Alpha Theta Student Award, Christian Brothers University
2013
Presidential Recognition, Christian Brothers University
2009
Dean's Scholarship, Christian Brothers University
Public history and archival work
Summer 2015
Shelby Farms Park, Playground Ranger
Spring 2013
Temple Israel, Archive Intern
Spring 2013
Memphis Heritage, Archive Intern
2011 to 2012
Pink Palace Family of Museums, Collections Department Intern
Summer 2010
Pink Palace Family of Museums, Program Docent
Professional organizations
American Society for Environmental History; German Studies Association; Southeastern American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies; The European History Section of the Southern Historical Association.
Languages
French (fluent), Spanish (intermediate), German (beginner).