Faculty Leader:
Prof. James Hayes-Bohanan
jhayesboh@bridgew.edu

Undergrad: GEOG 295
Graduate: GEOG 520

All dates are subject to change, +/- 1-3 days

Course Description
Geography of Coffee is a travel course that examines the human, physical, and environmental geography of coffee production and trade. Course readings focus on the economic geography of the coffee trade. Pre-departure lectures provide an overview of the global patterns of coffee production and its agronomy and processing. The two-week travel portion includes carefully chosen activities in coffeelands and elsewhere in a coffee-producing country, providing comprehensive exposure to the landscape and cultural environment from which coffee emerges. Activities include hikes in coffee plantations and related environments; detailed presentations by coffee producers, processors, traders, and labor organizers; and visits to non-governmental and academic institutions in the coffee-growing regions. The tour includes direct involvement with coffee-growing communities, including meals and overnight stays with farm families. Group meetings and student writing are used to integrate the lessons about geography that arise from readings and the travel experience.
The course usually takes place in Nicaragua during the winter break (nearly every year since 2006) and may be repeated for credit when offered in a different country.
NOTE: The January 2019 offering of the course will take place in Costa Rica.