D. Alan Orr holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge (UK), and a BA and MA from Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario. He has taught at MICA since 2004. He has also taught at Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario, and at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario. His research and teaching interests comprehend the intellectual and cultural history of early modern Britain and Europe (1400-1800).

His book, Treason and the State: Law, Politics, and Ideology in the English Civil War, appeared with Cambridge University Press in 2002. He has also published reviews and articles in the Journal of British Studies, Parliamentary History, the Canadian Journal of History, History, Albion, and Field Day Review.