Course Description
Just Coffee: The Biology, Ecology & Socioeconomic Impacts of the World's Favorite Drink, PLS 007V
Enrollment and waitlists for Spring Quarter 2024 will CLOSE - April 12, 2024 - 5:00pm.
Coffee used as a case study to examine biological, ecological and social factors influencing sustainability of farming systems and how food production systems impact human well-being.
Key Information
Spring Quarter 2020
Instruction start date: March 30, 2020
Instruction end date: June 4, 2020
Credit: 4 quarter units / 2.67 semester units credit
UC Davis, PLSC
Course Credit:
Upon successful completion, all online courses offered through cross-enrollment provide UC unit credit. Some courses are approved for GE, major preparation and/or, major credit or can be used as a substitute for a course at your campus.If "unit credit" is listed by your campus, consult your department, academic adviser or Student Affairs division to inquire about the petition process for more than unit credit for the course.
UC Davis:
General Education: SE, SS, WE;
UC Berkeley:
Unit Credit
UC Irvine:
Unit Credit
UC Los Angeles:
Unit Credit
UC Merced:
Unit Credit (see your Academic Advisor)
UC Riverside:
General Education: Elective units
UC San Diego:
General Education: TMC 1 course toward lower division disciplinary breadth if noncontiguous to major; Muir: one course in a theme in "Biological Sciences";
UC San Francisco:
Unit Credit
UC Santa Barbara:
Unit Credit
UC Santa Cruz:
Unit Credit
Section Meeting Times
Course Meeting Requirements
“Just” Coffee is an entirely online course. The course is divided into week-long modules on Canvas, the online platform through which all course content is delivered. The modules will open on Sundays, two weeks before assignments are due. Modules include reading assignments, written assignments, lecture videos, and Live Discussion Sections.
More About The Course
Course overview
From its roots in Africa to its position as the world’s favorite drink, the story of coffee is one rich in history and mythology; it is also a great lesson in biology and ecology, of global climate change, politics, development, trade, and societal impacts.
This course will help students understand the complex set of biological, ecological and social interactions that go into a truly ‘just’ cup of coffee and how our food and agricultural systems interact with human well-being.
Course-level learning outcomes
- Students will be able to think critically beyond their current major and apply a systems-thinking approach to the production of a key global agricultural commodity;
- Students will analyze a given module topic from the vantage points of multiple stakeholders along the coffee value chain, from academic, non-profit, certification-focused, field-based, private sector, and research-driven perspectives;
- Students will be able to draw connections between content from the current week’s module and the previous weeks’ modules topics;
- Students will be able to define and explain key terminology and key concepts related to coffee production;
- Students will gain increased global perspective of the coffee value chain and threats to sustainability issues at origin;
- Students demonstrate critical thinking and effective communication of the course material through writing assignments;
- Students will apply knowledge learned in course to evaluate current initiatives to alleviate threats in the coffee sector
Additional Course Information
Exam Info
There is no exam for this course. Instead, students will submit a Final Research Paper about Coffee Origins + Challenges to Production at the end of the quarter.
Course Creator
Patrick Brown
Instructor of Term
Patrick Brown
phbrown@ucdavis.edu