Dr Niall Oddy
Staff Tutor in History
Biography
Professional biography
I am a historian of early modern Europe, with an interest in transnational and interdisciplinary approaches to history. I joined the Open University as an Associate Lecturer in 2019. I previously worked at Durham University, where I lectured in learning and teaching in Higher Education, delivered training for postgraduate researchers, and led an undergraduate personal development programme. I am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
Research interests
My research is concerned with travel, cross-cultural encounters and geographic thought in early modern Europe, with a particular focus on exchanges between France and the wider world. I have published articles on Franco-Ottoman relations, the history of the word 'Europe', the Europa myth in geographical discourse, and the French reception of Brazilian music. My monograph Writing Europe in Renaissance France (Edinburgh University Press, 2024) examines how Europe was understood and represented in sixteenth and early-seventeenth century France. It argues that Europe as an idea evolved in productive dialogue with emerging national consciousness and demonstrates how different ideas of Europe were shaped by real and imagined journeys across the globe.
In 2022 I was awarded a Cosin's Library Fellowship at Durham University to research the foreign language books in Cosin's Library, a late-seventeenth century public library established by John Cosin, Bishop of Durham, who lived in Paris between 1644 and 1660.
Teaching interests
I have taught across the Open University's Arts and Humanities curriculum, including A111 Discovering the arts and humanities, A112 Cultures, A113 Revolutions, A223 Early modern Europe, A233 Telling stories, A327 Europe 1914-1989 , and A328 Empires. I currently teach DA332 Religion and global challenges in the past and present, a module for which I wrote two VLE units. I am a member of the module team for A223 Early modern Europe.
Impact and engagement
I have written for public audiences about the history of the idea of Europe (Disagreements on what Europe means go back to the 16th century (theconversation.com)) and How can Europe meet the challenge posed by the retreat of the US?), literature and the environment (Literature and the Environment - OpenLearn - Open University), and early modern religion (niall oddy | Search Results | Contemporary religion in historical perspective). You can listen to me talking about travellers to early modern spa towns here: Spa Towns by OU Medieval and Early Modern Encounters.
I am a member of the council of the Durham County Local History Society.
