Lecture: Learning about America from Starbucks November 13, 2009

Bryant Simon
Professor of History
Temple University

Friday, Nov. 13, 2009
12:00-1:30 p.m.
Angell Hall, Auditorium D

Bryant Simon is the author of EVERYTHING BUT THE COFFEE: LEARNING ABOUT AMERICA FROM STARBUCKS (University of California Press, 2009) and BOARDWALK OF DREAMS: ATLANTIC CITY AND THE FATE OF URBAN AMERICA (Oxford University Press, 2004).

Drawn from Simon's new book, this lecture will explore the larger meaning of Starbucks--what the smiling baristas, venti mocha frappuccinos, overstuffed chairs, and Paul McCartney CDs tell us about America at this troubling and uncertain junction in the nation's history. And also what our drink choices tell us about ourselves, our communities, our environment, and our everyday practice of politics on the branded consumer landscape of modern America.

Simon visited more than 450 Starbucks stores in 10 countries during five years of research for EVERYTHING BUT THE COFFEE. His book asks: Why did Starbucks take hold so quickly with consumers? What did it seem to provide over and above a decent cup of coffee? Why at the moment of Starbucks' profit-generating peak did the company lose its way, leaving observers baffled about how it might regain its customers and its cultural significance? EVERYTHING BUT THE COFFEE probes the company's psychological, emotional, political, and sociological power to discover how Starbucks' explosive success and rapid deflation exemplify American culture at this historical moment. Most important, the book shows that Starbucks speaks to a deeply felt American need for predictability and class standing, community and authenticity, revealing that Starbucks' appeal lies not in the product it sells but in the easily consumed identity it offers.