Bio

Professor Jason Old joined the Department of Humanities at Southeastern University in 2007. A specialist in modern Latin America, his research explores how the United States has historically engaged with the Caribbean Basin of Latin America.

His most recent publication, “Transnational Surfistas and the Development of Nicaragua’s Emerald Coast” (Routledge, 2021), historically contextualizes the inception, development, and proliferation of surf tourism on the Emerald Coast of Nicaragua, starting in the 1990s. His more extensive research project situates the development of transnational surf enclaves on the Emerald Coast within the broader history of US and European engagement with Nicaragua.

As an Associate Professor of History and Spanish, he teaches all levels of Spanish, as well as courses in nineteenth- and twentieth-century US and Latin American history. Professor Old’s history courses focus primarily on the United States’ historical—political, economic, military, and cultural—relationship with Latin America. He teaches several courses on these topics, among them, “American History II, 1877 to Present,” “US Interventions in Latin America,” “Latin American Literature,” and “Latin American Film.” He also directs language, history, and culture study abroad programs to Cuba and Nicaragua, teaching courses on the “History of Cuba, 1898-present” and "Nicaraguan History and Culture.”

Professor Old was also a founding member and the executive director of CAN Fútbol Foundation (2008—2018), a sport and development nonprofit organization that uses soccer to promote education in Roatan, Honduras.