From Reading About Coffee Houses to Creating One in the Classroom

 

When the Augustan Age Came Alive: A Coffee House Classroom at Birsa Munda Tribal University

Teaching literature is not always about explaining texts, literary terms, historical contexts, and important dates. Sometimes, it is about creating an experience through which students can feel the age they are studying. With this thought, I organised a Coffee House Classroom Activity for the Major English Semester III students of the School of Arts, Birsa Munda Tribal University, on 19 August 2026, as part of their study of the Augustan Age.

The Augustan Age is one of the most significant periods in English literary history. It is associated with the Age of Enlightenment, an increasing emphasis on reason, intellect, satire, order, discussion, and social awareness. It was also a period in which literary culture expanded beyond the traditional spaces of courts and aristocratic circles. Coffee houses and clubs emerged as important centres of intellectual and social interaction, where people gathered to exchange ideas, discuss politics and literature, debate contemporary issues, and participate in the intellectual life of the age.

While teaching this aspect of the Augustan Age, I wanted my students to understand that coffee houses were not merely places where people went to drink coffee. They were spaces of conversation, exchange, learning, debate, and intellectual engagement.

So, instead of simply telling them about coffee houses, I decided to bring the idea of the eighteenth-century coffee house into our classroom.

A Classroom Transformed into a Coffee House

On 19 August, the classroom was transformed into a space of informal learning and conversation. Students came together, prepared charts, formed groups, had coffee, and engaged in conversations and discussions related to the Augustan Age.

The classroom atmosphere was deliberately different from a conventional lecture. Rather than sitting quietly and listening to a teacher explain the topic, students were encouraged to speak, question, discuss, explain, and respond to one another.

They prepared charts on different aspects of the age and used them as a starting point for their discussions. Their conversations revolved around the important characteristics of the Augustan Age, its intellectual environment, the influence of reason and enlightenment, literary developments, and the significance of coffee houses and clubs.

The activity attempted to recreate, in a simple classroom setting, the spirit of an eighteenth-century coffee house—people coming together, sharing ideas, listening to different perspectives, and learning through conversation.

More Than an Activity

For me, however, this activity had a purpose that went beyond making the classroom interesting.

One of the challenges I have observed in teaching is that students can sometimes be hesitant or resistant to speaking in front of others. They may understand a topic but hesitate to express their thoughts. A conventional classroom can sometimes reinforce this silence, especially when students feel that their answers must be perfect before they speak.

The aim was to create a space where speaking was not something to be feared.

The coffee house activity was therefore designed as an opportunity for students to find their voice.

There were no rigid boundaries between "teacher" and "learner" during the discussions. Students interacted with one another, exchanged ideas, explained concepts, and gradually became more comfortable expressing themselves.

And what surprised me most was how naturally they responded to the activity.

When Students Grasped the Essence

What initially appeared to be a simple classroom activity became much more meaningful.

I had expected students to participate in the activity, prepare their charts, have their coffee, and discuss the topic. But what truly surprised me was that they did not merely perform the activity—they grasped its essence.

They understood why coffee houses were significant during the Augustan Age.

They experienced, at least in a small way, the idea of a space where knowledge is not simply delivered from one person to another but is created through conversation and exchange.

The classroom became a space where students could see the connection between the historical context they were reading about and the way knowledge can be shared in their own lives.

In that sense, the activity became an example of what it was teaching.

The Augustan coffee house was a space for discussion—and our classroom became one too.

Learning Beyond the Textbook

Literature classrooms often have the potential to become spaces of imagination. Historical periods can sometimes seem distant to students because they are presented through dates, names, movements, writers, and characteristics.

But when students are given an opportunity to experience an element of that historical culture, the learning becomes more tangible.

The Coffee House Classroom Activity helped students approach the Augustan Age not simply as a chapter to be completed but as a living intellectual environment.

They could understand that literary history is also social history.

The rise of coffee houses and clubs tells us something about how people interacted, exchanged information, debated ideas, and participated in public intellectual life. Literature does not exist in isolation; it develops within a network of social, political, cultural, and intellectual changes.

Through this activity, students were able to explore that connection in a participatory manner.

Perhaps the most rewarding aspect of the activity was watching students participate.

Students who might normally hesitate to speak were given an informal environment in which they could communicate with their peers. Group conversations reduced the pressure of speaking individually before the entire class. As the discussions progressed, students became more comfortable sharing their understanding.

This reminded me once again that teaching is not always about making students speak; sometimes it is about creating a space in which they want to speak.

When students are given ownership of the learning process, their participation can become much more meaningful.

The charts they prepared, the conversations they had, and the ideas they exchanged were not simply components of an activity. They were expressions of their engagement with the subject.

The activity also reminded me of the changing role of a teacher in the classroom.

There are moments when teaching means explaining a difficult concept. But there are also moments when teaching means stepping back and allowing students to discover, discuss, question, and learn from one another.

During the coffee house activity, my role was less that of a lecturer and more that of a facilitator.

I observed their conversations, encouraged participation, clarified concepts whenever necessary, and allowed the discussions to develop organically.

And in doing so, I witnessed something that cannot always be measured through examinations: confidence, curiosity, collaboration, and communication.

I am sincerely thankful to all my students for their active participation, enthusiasm, creativity, and sincere efforts in making this activity meaningful.

Their willingness to participate and their ability to engage with the concept went beyond my expectations. I am particularly happy that they did not merely complete an assigned classroom activity but understood the larger idea behind it.

I would also like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Vikas Raval Sir, Head of the Department of English, Birsa Munda Tribal University, and Prof. Dr. Dhaval Pandya Sir for their constant support and encouragement. Their support provides the academic environment necessary for trying innovative and student-centred approaches to teaching and learning.

A Small Coffee House, A Bigger Lesson

The Coffee House Classroom Activity was a small attempt to bring a historical literary culture into a contemporary classroom. But for me, it became much more than that.

It reminded me that education becomes meaningful when students are not merely recipients of knowledge but participants in its creation.

The Augustan Age gave importance to reason, discussion, intellectual exchange, and the circulation of ideas. On 19 August 2026, my students recreated a small part of that spirit within their own classroom.

Perhaps the most beautiful outcome was that the students who were initially hesitant to speak found themselves talking, discussing, questioning, and sharing.

And that is what made the activity truly successful.

Because sometimes, a cup of coffee can become more than a cup of coffee.

Sometimes, a classroom can become a coffee house.

And sometimes, a discussion can become the beginning of a student's confidence to find and express their own voice.

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