Author: Seth Poore
Major: French
Approved: Fall 2018
Status: Completed
A familiar milieu of any academic’s life is the coffeeshop. Full of thinkers, socialites, and of course caffeine, this space has historically provided a dedicated public forum for community members to gather together for leisure and discourse. This study aims to analyze the function that coffee and coffeeshops collectively serve to society with specific foci placed on France and the United States. 33 qualitative interviews conducted in coffeeshops within these two countries attempt to reveal the societal placement of coffee culture, redefining the functions that coffeeshops serve today. Furthermore, the project examines the functions that coffee and coffeeshops have served historically, exploring coffee’s previous social and economic purposes and contrasting them to modern contexts.
