Coffee and Capitalism

Catalog description

What role has coffee played in connecting people and places to capitalist markets and consumer cultures? What are the economic, social, and environmental consequences of these connections? How did espresso change from an "ethnic drink" to something served at McDonalds? Why do college students (and professors!) hang out in coffee shops? This course will answer these questions and more by using coffee to learn about the history of capitalism, and capitalism to understand the history of coffee. We will follow the spread of coffee and capitalism across the globe, with excursions to places where people grow coffee (Ethiopia, Yemen, Indonesia, Brazil, and Costa Rica), and also where they drink coffee (Seattle, Tokyo, Seoul, New York, and Berlin). In the process, we will confront global problems linked to economic inequality, trade, gender relations, and environmental degradation. Course meetings will combine interactive lecture, group discussions, and mini-presentations. Assignments will include journal responses, ethnographic observations, and writing a short script that tells a story about coffee and capitalism. Course Website: https://www.cmu.edu/dietrich/history/