Literary Corner

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W. Scott Haine, author of The World of the Paris Café, is an adjunct professor of history for UMUC's online programs. His specialization is French popular culture. The World of the Paris Café gives an interesting background of Parisian cafés and how greatly they impacted 19th-century society.

Due to the increasing interest in cafés and Starbucks, we've become a society of lattes and frappacinos. Many of us have grown fond of the atmosphere in cafés where we can sit and read or chat with friends. Interestingly enough, 19th-century Parisian cafés were not much different in that respect. However, they "ultimately played a pivotal role in the formulation and expression of their class identity," according to the Amazon.com editorial review of Haine's book. More than 42,000 cafés may have been operating in the city of Paris during the 1800s. (In comparison, Seattle, America's stereotypical coffee capital, has only about 60.)

Haine currently designs courses for UMUC, in addition to conducting peer reviews. His next project includes three new books on the cafes of the Paris regions during the 20th century. After completing those projects, he hopes to do a study of the café during the French Revolution and a history of children's games and adolescent leisure in Paris from 1600 to present. Finally, he plans to finish his book on the interrelationship between body, race, and mind in European history. Haine tries to include these matters of interest in his courses when appropriate.

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Murphy is a Washington, D.C. native and is currently employed as an annual lecturer for UMUC, enabling him to travel freely. He has taught UMUC courses in Hungary, Italy, Greece, and now Izmir, Turkey.