Raised in California and living in France since 2000, Jeffrey Swartwood’s teaching and research focus on American civilization – specializing in the areas of California culture and of Southwest border studies. Favoring an interdisciplinary approach, his work notably examines the complex social constructs within California culture and their representation in literature, film, and popular culture.

Recent work has focused on his longstanding passion for surfing and surf culture: working on the exhibit La deférlante surf at the Musée d’Aquitaine, organizing an international conference on the subject in Bordeaux, and working on historical representations of women surfers in early California. 

He is currently an Associate Professor at the Ecole Polytechnique near Paris and member of the research group CLIMAS.

Co-founder of the Vintage Surf Club in Bordeaux, he is an active surfer, surfboard historian and occasionally still shapes a board or two.