Inside the classroom: Brewing up knowledge

Inside the Classroom is a new series offering a glimpse into classes at Lafayette, the talented professors who teach them, and how they impact and define a student’s experience.

By Stella Katsipoutis-Varkanis

Video by Olivia Giralico

When you reach for a cup of joe on a groggy morning or between running errands, seldom does your mind venture to question just how that liquid energy became so deeply ingrained in daily life. In her course Global Stimulants, Rebekah Pite, professor of history, opens students’ eyes to the history of four caffeinated beverages—coffee, tea, chocolate, and yerba mate (an infused drink made from a holly bush native to South America)—giving them a fresh perspective on some of the world’s most popular brews.

Beyond exploring how the caffeine fix came to be—a history of production and consumption that’s often tied to practices of colonialism and imperialism—HIST 238 also delves into how imbibing in these delights brings not only a pick-me-up, but also connection between those who enjoy them.

Prof. Rebekah Pite (third from left) says her Global Stimulants course, which was inspired by research for her book Sharing Yerba Mate, immerses students in not only the history of various caffeinated drinks but also the sense of community they create. | Photos by JaQuan Alston

“One of the things I study in my research and teach about is the concept of commensalism—the idea that when people share food or drink, it creates a sense of community,” Pite says. “The popularity of these drinks continues to grow because the rituals around them often encourage people to slow down, be with one another, and talk to each other as they share a drink. It’s a tangible way to say we’re all part of a group.”

Olivia Naum ’26, a history and Russian and East European studies double major who took the course in the spring, says what she enjoyed most about the course was that it gave her a personal, intimate look into the daily lives of various cultures—a side of history that’s not typically taught. 

Seizing the opportunity to apply her studies as a history and Russian East European studies double major, Olivia Naum ’26 created an exhibition on Russian history and decorative arts for the Global Stimulants course.

“People think history is about big events and figures, and things like preserved documents,” she says. “But a lot of it is how people experience and are impacted on an everyday level by the changes happening around them.” Through course readings and the study of objects that weren’t meant to be historically preserved—like coffee mugs and tea ware—Naum says the class didn’t just help her understand how processes like capitalism created the trade networks that brought the coffee to her favorite shop. “It also gave me an understanding of the everyday lives of people who may not have had their history preserved in any real kind of way.”

The course even gave students a chance to dive into the topic sensorially with chocolate tastings, trips to coffee shops in Easton, and demonstrations of traditional tea ceremonies and yerba mate sharing rituals. “I like for my students to learn about historical empathy and understand what it would really be like to get a taste of a particular time and place,” Pite says.

Global Stimulants, which debuted in 2017 and alternates between fall and spring offerings, emerged from Pite’s research for her book Sharing Yerba Mate: How South America’s Most Popular Drink Defined a Region (2023). Her research amassed a database of more than 1,000 visual sources related to yerba mate, which served as her inspiration for the course’s final project assignment. To conclude their class experience, students select one caffeinated drink, and use the Omeka platform to build and publish digital exhibits that publicly showcase what they learned from their studies throughout the class.

Students work closely with Lafayette’s Special Collections and College Archives, as well as Digital Scholarship Services, to cultivate the skills needed to create their final collections and presentations. Janna Avon (digital initiatives librarian), Ana Ramirez Luhrs (co-director of Special Collections and College Archives), and Lijuan Xu (director of research and instructional services), are key partners in their collaboration with Lafayette College Libraries.

Abigail Pingpank ’25 says working on her exhibit (Infused Histories: The Visual Evolution of The Mate Drinker in 19th-20th Century Uruguay) and other Global Stimulants course assignments helped strengthen her writing skills—and prepared her for her pursuit of a master’s degree in history.

Abigail Pingpank ’25, a history and English double major who also took the Global Stimulants course in the spring, says Xu and Luhrs provided profound research support, helping students find and identify primary resources for their projects. 

“The number of resources and databases Lafayette has is incredible,” Pingpank says. “And Lijuan and Ana even got us resources we didn’t originally have here—either from other institutions through the interlibrary loan system, or by purchasing them to eventually keep in the library. At Lafayette, no resource is out of reach, and it allows for students to research whatever they want. The sky is the limit.” 

Avon, Naum adds, guided students through using the Omeka platform to build their exhibit websites from the ground up. “Having this amazing team of four women, including Prof. Pite, and seeing how much they wanted us to succeed was really inspiring,” Naum says. “It felt like a team project and exhibit you would create in a museum.” 

Having the opportunity to refine her writing and research skills through the course was something else Pingpank was particularly grateful for: “Learning how to appeal to different audiences is so important to me, especially as someone who wants to pursue history or a similar field in my postgraduate experience,” she says. “The skills I’ve been taught under the instruction of Prof. Pite and the History Department as a whole have been incredible ways to expand my education and prepare me for the future.”

Gaining firsthand experience in building exhibitions through courses like Global Stimulants inspired Naum’s dream to work for a museum or library—and help make history more accessible for all.

Naum, who previously built a digital exhibit in the Museum Studies course at Lafayette, says her work in the Global Stimulants class helped expand her skills with the Omeka platform even further—and shaped her vision for the future. “It’s inspired me to continue my education in history by pursuing graduate degrees in either museum studies or library science,” she says. “My ultimate goal is to work in a museum or library, where I can help spread knowledge and make history accessible to people of all different backgrounds and cultures.”   

Pite invites students of every major to give the course a taste—not only because they’ll learn about their daily world in a whole new way, but also because it’s simply fun. “One of the reasons Lafayette is a great place for a course like this is scale. I get to teach this class with a relatively small number of students—which means that in every class, every student can participate.”

“At Lafayette, no resource is out of reach,” says Pingpank, who was particularly grateful for the opportunity to work alongside Prof. Pite, Lafayette’s Special Collections and College Archives, and Digital Scholarship Services during the course.

“Lafayette is so committed to the liberal arts education and showing how different subjects can intersect,” Naum says. “It’s interesting to hear the perspectives of the many different majors in the class. This intersection of learning styles and interests creates a course that demonstrates how Lafayette students can bring their different passions together to make something really great.” 

Pite’s passion for teaching the subject, Pingpank adds, is also magnetic. “She is a phenomenal professor, adviser, and everything in between,” she says. “I wouldn’t be the student I am today without the instruction Prof. Pite has given me over my time at Lafayette. I’ve learned so much of history I didn’t know was out there, and doing that in a fun way with coffee, chocolate, and tea is something I never thought I’d be able to do. This was my favorite course I’ve taken at Lafayette.”