Yapp earned her Ph.D. in Anthropology from Stanford University, where she was also affiliated with the Stanford Archaeology Center. Her work explores cultural heritage, memory politics, and postcolonial urbanism in the Global South. She is presently completing a book manuscript based on her doctoral dissertation, "Colonial Pasts, Future Cities: Urban Heritage Advocacy in Post-Authoritarian Indonesia." Drawing upon extensive ethnographic fieldwork in several of the country’s major cities, this research examines how a growing number of initiatives aimed at preserving “urban heritage” are not only shaping the material fabric of those neighborhoods now designated as historic districts, but also producing new forms of citizenship and governance, re-negotiating the relationship between civil society and state authority, and profoundly impacting the lives of the urban underclasses. In addition to this most recent project, Yapp has conducted research in Southeast Asia and Europe on such wide-ranging topics as cultural diplomacy, colonial and postcolonial architecture, urban water management, museum politics, and expertise.

The Center for Asian Studies recently interviewed Yapp about her research and teaching, and has posted both an edited version of the interview and the full interview online.