Fabien Montcher

Fabien Montcher is an Associate Professor of History and Director of the Center for Iberian Historical Studies (CIHS) at Saint Louis University. His research focuses on the social history of ideas and politics in early modern Iberian worlds, with interests spanning empire studies, the history of knowledge, and environmental history. He holds a Ph.D. from Universidad Complutense de Madrid (2013) and has held fellowships at institutions including the IAS Princeton and the Huntington Library.

Montcher’s work includes Mercenaries of Knowledge (Cambridge UP, 2023), examining the strategies of displaced scholars in early modern politics, and a forthcoming book on citrus diplomacy in early modern empires. His research integrates global and interdisciplinary approaches, blurring lines between humanities and sciences.

He teaches courses such as Seeds of Empires: Food and Environmental History and actively fosters collaborations through CIHS, connecting SLU’s St. Louis and Madrid campuses. Awards include the ACLS Fellowship (2017) and the Oliveira Marques Prize (2018).

• Research Highlights: Bibliopolitics, rhizomatic empires, and the role of citrus in diplomacy.
• Grants: NEH Institute ‘Global Geographies of Knowledge’ ($200k+, 2023).
• Labs/Teams: Co-edits Rhizome series on early modern Iberian networks at the Newberry Library.