Olivier Tonneau specializes in Early Modern French thought, especially Pascal and Diderot. He is also interested in contemporary debates concerning ethics and its relation to literature.
He has a doctorate in Modern Languages from the Université Paris IV-Sorbonne
and a Masters of Arts of the University of Cambridge. He also researches the French Revolution (Robespierre) and the legacy of the French Revolution (Republicanism, anticolonialism...). He also researches theology, ethics, politics, the relation between philosophy and literature. He currently researches the historiography of the French revolution, especially from a colonial/postcolonial perspective, with a view to assessing its relevance to contemporary political debates.