Invitation to History (Theme: Coffee and Globalization) (HIST*1050) | College of Arts

Invitation to History (Theme: Coffee and Globalization) (HIST*1050)

Code and section: HIST*1050*03

Term: Fall 2026

Details

Course Synopsis:

This course introduces students to the basics of the historian’s craft including interpreting primary sources, locating and critically analyzing secondary sources and writing for History.  It will provide you with the tools that you need to be successful in your History major, minor or area of concentration.  You can choose any one of the following four classes.  The classes are different in terms of topic, but will teach the same skills and prepare you for other history classes in the same way.  This section is called

It explores themes in global history over the past 500 years through the history of coffee production, trade, and consumption. Coffee is everywhere you look, from the Timmy’s double-double that you pick up at a drive-through counter, to the complex single-origin coffees offered by specialty roasters in luxurious cafés. We have lost sight of just how strange it is that people across the world became addicted a drink made from the fruit of an obscure plant native to a remote corner of Ethiopia, and how the livelihoods of people around the world have come to depend on cultivating this plant.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

  • manage your time in university for success;
  • distinguish between important information and unnecessary details;
  • distinguish between a scholarly and a non-scholarly source;
  • develop effective written and oral communications skills and enhance listening comprehension;
  • analyze and interpret a variety of primary and secondary sources and construct a historical argument;
  • act with academic integrity;
  • cite sources appropriately in history classes;
  • learn that historical interpretations change over time and in response to evidence
  • learn that history is a diverse enterprise which helps us to understand different cultures, regions and states

Methods of Evaluation and Weights:

  • Short Written Assignment  15%
  • Essay Proposal  10%
  • Research Essay  25%
  • Midterm Exam  20%
  • Final Exam  20%
  • Class Participation  10%

Texts and/or Resources Required Include All or Parts of:

  • Jonathan Morris, Coffee: A Global History
  • Other primary and secondary readings, through ARES or Courselink

 

*Please note: This is a preliminary web course description only.  The department reserves the right to change without notice any information in this description.  The final, binding course outline will be distributed in the first class of the semester. 

**Please login to WebAdvisor, once the course schedule goes live, for instructor and room information. 

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