Aryeh Istrin
CUOT 1010
Professor Levin
10 November, 2014
Do Contemporary Coffeehouses Function as a Habermasian "Public Sphere"? In the mid 1700 's coffeehouses began to be a place where many people could come and gather not only to sit and drink coffee but rather to socialize, carry out business , talk politics, and current events. The English coffeehouses were a prime example of what Jurgen Habermas 's had in mind of what is a public sphere. According to Habermas, a public sphere is a place where one can have the freedom to speak his mind and everyone is accepted regardless of their rank. Another idea of Habermas 's public sphere was to be able to talk politics in freedom, therefore the English coffeehouse were a perfect
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This in reality makes for coffee shops today be a better public sphere than the England 17th century model because it allows for even more people to be accepted and enjoy the cultures of coffeehouses. Contemporary coffee shops today differ slightly from the public sphere due to the fact that political policy and politics in general are not talked about in a coffeehouse. Back in the English coffeehouses many of the royalties in the government would go to the coffee shops to talk political policies. For example, Theodor Johann Quistorp said in Leipzig 1743 "A coffeehouse is like a political stock exchange, where the most gallant and wittiest heads of every estate come together. They engage in wide-ranging and edifying talk, issue well-founded judgments on matters concerning the political and the scholarly world, converse sagaciously about the most secret news from all courts and states, and unveil the most hidden truths." From this statement one can fully understand the extent of politics that were talked about in the coffeehouse. This is one of the main differences that coffeehouses now a days have with regard to the public sphere. Simply put, one does not see a head of state like our president or governors meet in a Starbucks to talk politics like they did back in English coffeehouses. This shows how the coffee shops in England were more within Habermas 's view with respect to politics and a difference in today 's coffee shops. Another
A) Coffee originated in Yemen, Arabia where it was viewed as a religious beverage. Over time it spread to Mecca and Cairo, where it became a recreational drink to be drunk in a social manner in large coffee houses. It also became a popular substitute for alcohol, which was banned under Islam. Europeans traveling in the Middle East came upon coffee and coffeehouses and commented on their popularity. But it wasn’t until 1652, when an Armenian servant named Pasqua Rosee opened the first coffee house in London, that coffee transformed from a little known novelty into a wide spread phenomenon. When, in 1658, Cromwell died and public opinion swung in the favor of a new monarchy, coffee houses became central in political debates and commercial business. The trend quickly caught on and coffee houses became fashionable throughout Europe.
Coffee houses became a play for informal intellectual conversation. At coffee houses scientists could discuss and
Coffee has played a major role in the lives of many people around the world. “Yet, poetic as its taste may be, coffee’s history is rife with controversy and politics…[becoming a] creator of revolutionary sedition in Arab countries and in Europe” (Pendergrast xvi). After reading Uncommon Grounds, it is apparent that the history of coffee is intertwined with the aspects of the globalization process, the role of Multi-National Corporations, and global economic issues.
Let’s stop and check-in -- we’ve established that coffee has changed over the years, television has fueled this change, and that we have some hip cities now. So what’s the point? What do these cities have to do with Central Perk-esque coffee establishments?
Coffee quickly became the drink of intellect and industry being known to sharpen the mind. Taverns were replaced with a more sophisticated meeting place, the coffeehouse. These “led to the establishment of scientific societies and financial institutions, the founding of newspapers, and provided fertile ground for revolutionary thought.” [4]
I set out to find a place to begin my observations, not knowing what to fully expect, what I may find. So I decided to look around at what is close to my home that isn’t a place I frequent or have even visited at all. Then it came to me, the Starbucks that is only about a mile away is a perfect place for me to observe subjects that I would consider different from myself, seeing as how I consider such obscene prices for coffee ridiculous. Starbucks is a very popular chain of coffee vendors that describe their product as more about quality than what Americans are used to in typical coffee joints.
In general the coffeehouse industry in the United States was experiencing an increase in coffee consumption per capita due to the “Starbucks effect”. At this time Starbucks was operating approximately 20,000 stores in the United States and was living a fast expansion strategy worldwide.
Though coffee houses throughout Europe have a self-explanatory function of meeting point, discussion area and recreational facility, this concept has only recently been explored in North America, and is gaining in popularity and social recognition as we speak, and is only expected to increase over the course of the next few years.
There are many different types of coffee shops around the world and they all sell coffee, but on the other hand they have very different belief points. For Example Woods support Christianity and Starbucks supports LGBTQ + community.
Coffeehouses are the staple of our modern world. It’s easy to assume that coffeehouses are a modern phenomenon. However, McKay et al., tells us that the “Coffeehouses that first appeared in the seventeenth century became meccas for of philosophical discussions” (505).
The ambiances at each bar were different and the energy was electrifying. It was in this setting that he realized that creating an atmosphere and bonding with customers around a cup of coffee was monumental in improving his business. Coffee would be only the automobile for a place where people want to stay for a while, a place-like-home, and office. These variables will become the differentiating factor for Starbucks.
The drink was no longer just a utilitarian morning stimulant and has a satellite pastime very European style: the windows from floor to ceiling, special atmosphere, soft music, dozens of varieties of coffee. However, besides all this, coffee is a business not only successful, but also has today a huge potential for development.
Seeing someone holding a cup of coffee on the street is not unusual at all nowadays. In fact, they are starting to get more common. There are now different varieties to choose from. Shops or cafes also provide a lot of different choices or products to consumers. Prices could range from low to high, depending on what type of coffee beans you have chosen to make the coffee. By adopting the sociological imagination to coffee, it gives us a better understanding of what coffee represents in a social context. Based on the definition by Mills, [the sociological imagination can be defined as] the ability to understand the dynamic relationship between individual lives and the larger society (Ravelli, Bruce and Michelle Webber, 2016). This is basically where individuals have to think outside the box. In this case, we have to think specifically for the object, coffee. For instance, how does it perform its function in the society?
People love to drink coffee. Coffee shops, independently owned or chains are every corner. Statistics show that people are taking more coffee every day. It is a very profitable business.
I can always look forward to starting my day off, with a steaming cup of coffee, I love that even if it 's a cold, dark, and gloomy day outside, a big cup of coffee can get me through the day. I could go on and on about my appreciation and fondness over the drink itself, but I won’t. However, I would like to share with you a remarkable phenomenon that I’ve come to notice, it is other people sharing this experience, this love for coffee, and they do it all across the globe in shops known as “cafes,” or “coffee shops.” And this is exactly what Howard Schultz (The CEO