Randolph-Macon College Sociology/Anthropology and Women’s Studies Professor Debra Rodman’s course, The Anthropology of Coffee and Cacao, explores two of the most widely used commodities worldwide: coffee and chocolate. Using the breadth of the anthropological perspective, students are learning about the history and culture surrounding coffee and chocolate—from the origins of chocolate production among Pre-Colombian societies, to how women in colonial Guatemala used chocolate to usurp Spanish power, to current issues of fair trade and child trafficking in cacao plantations in West Africa.

“A major goal of the course is for students to understand the close ties Americans have with the commodities they consume and how their choices impact people’s everyday lives, oftentimes a relationship that keeps many in poverty,” explains Rodman.

Photos: The Anthropology of Coffee and Cacao

Guest Speakers + Demonstrations
Guest speakers and demonstrations have been a large part of the course. Cameron McNeil of Lehman College, editor and author of one of the course’s texts, Chocolate in Mesoamerica, recently Skyped with Rodman’s class to discuss her book and give a lecture she had previously given at the Smithsonian Institution.

Michelle Moore, owner of Richmond, Virginia-based Artisans Mayan Chocolate, gave a demonstration of cacao practices of the Maya of Guatemala. Alex Brito, owner of Richmond-based Upchurch Chocolate discussed with students his bean-to bar company.

And in late November, the class visited Richmond-based Lamplighter Coffee Company’s roasting facility to meet with their green-coffee buyer, Alan Smith. They also took a “cupping course” at Lamplighter, in which they tasted various coffees and learned more about the company’s efforts to engage in equitable business practices.

From Research to Classroom
Rodman, director of RMC’s women’s studies program, got the idea of the course while doing research in Guatemala, where she has worked since 1999.

“I was touring a coffee plantation in Antigua, Guatemala and I kept thinking about how I wished my students could be there with me,” she recalls.  “I wanted to find a way to bring the story of coffee to them.” Rodman says coffee production has changed very little in the past two centuries, but coffee drinkers’ tastes have evolved.

“The higher-quality coffee available has produced a more educated consumer who can vote with his or her dollars to produce more equitable pay for everyone down the supply chain,” she says. “What I didn’t expect was to learn about the connection between child labor and mass-produced chocolate. Learning about how children are trafficked to work on cacao farms in West Africa shook me to my core.” Rodman advocates buying fair-trade chocolate. “We need to pressure the big companies to keep their promises to eradicate the worst forms of child labor, something they promised 15 years ago,” she says.

New Perspectives
Willie Schaub ’18 is a sociology/anthropology major and women’s studies minor. He says Rodman’s course has given him a new outlook on the history and culture of chocolate and coffee.

“Learning about the history of chocolate and coffee has opened my eyes about globalization and marketing,” she says. “I now know that consumers can change the lives of people and families around the world.”

Katie Terhune ’18 is a sociology/anthropology and archaeology major and religious studies and classics minor.

“My favorite part of this course is that it’s organized like a graduate-level seminar class,” she says.  “The class is both practical and engaging, and it is preparing me well for graduate school.”

A sociology/anthropology major and education minor, Hannah Rogers ’17 says, “My favorite part of the course thus far was learning about how the ancient Maya production of chocolate is similar to how we produce chocolate today. This class allows us to see the bean-to-bar chocolate production process firsthand.”