SENSE WORK: INEQUALITY AND THE LABOR OF CONNOISSEURSHIP by BRIAN OTT A DISSERTATION Presented to the Department of Sociology and the Graduate School of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy June 2018 DISSERTATION APPROVAL PAGE Student: Brian Ott Title: Sense Work: Inequality and the Labor of Connoisseurship This dissertation has been accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in the Department of Sociology by: Eileen Otis Chairperson Jocelyn Hollander Core Member Jill Ann Harrison Core Member Stephen Wooten Institutional Representative and Sara D. Hodges Interim Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School Original approval signatures are on file with the University of Oregon Graduate School. Degree awarded June 2018 ii © 2018 Brian Ott This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (United States) License. iii DISSERTATION ABSTRACT Brian Ott Doctor of Philosophy Department of Sociology June 2018 Title: Sense Work: Inequality and the Labor of Connoisseurship This dissertation examines the intersections of the body, senses, and labor within a Post-Fordist, consumption based economy. Data was collected via ethnographic research of specialty coffee baristas. The concepts of “sense work,” “taste frameworks,” and “minimum wage connoisseurship” are introduced for identifying the social components of sensory experience. The specialty coffee industry serves as one examples of a larger “taste economy.” This research demonstrates how sensory experience can fall under management control and aid in the development of a new, niche “consumer market” (Otis 2011), characteristic of Post-Fordism. Additionally, an examination of the boundary work and identity formation within the specialty coffee industry provides new insights into how the body and the senses are implicated in the production and reproduction of class inequality. iv CURRICULUM VITAE NAME OF AUTHOR: Brian Ott GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED: University of Oregon, Eugene Illinois State University, Normal DEGREES AWARDED: Doctor of Philosophy, Sociology, 2018, University of Oregon Master of Science, Sociology, 2009, Illinois State University Bachelor of Science, Sociology, 2006, Illinois State University AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST: Work, Organizations, and Occupations; Social Psychology/Micro- Interaction; Culture; Body and the Senses; Inequality PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Instructor of Sociology, Truman State University, 2017-18. Graduate Teaching Fellow, University of Oregon, 2010-2017. GRANTS, AWARDS, AND HONORS: Charles W. Hunt Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. Department of Sociology, University of Oregon, 2017. Lawrence Carter Graduate Student Research Award. Department of Sociology, University of Oregon 2016. v Food Studies Graduate Research Grant. Department of Environmental Studies, University of Oregon, 2013. PUBLICATIONS: Ott, Brian. 2016. “The Limits of Control in Service Work: Interactive Routines and Interactional Competence.” Research in the Sociology of Work. 29: 155-83. Ott, Brian and Eileen Otis. 2013. “Resistance in the Workplace.” In Vicki Smith (ed.) Sociology of Work: An Encyclopedia. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Ott, Brian and Richard Sullivan. 2009. “Alienation and Anomie.” In Harry T. Reis & Susan Sprecher (eds.), Encyclopedia of Human Relationships. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Literature Review ............................................................................................................................ 4 Emotion Management/Labor ................................................................................................ 4 Body Labor ................................................................................................................................ 6 Aesthetic Labor ......................................................................................................................... 7 Work and Skill .......................................................................................................................... 9 The Senses and Labor ............................................................................................................ 12 Senses and Boundaries .......................................................................................................... 15 Methodology .................................................................................................................................... 20 Gaining Entrée at Craft .......................................................................................................... 21 Supplementary Data ............................................................................................................... 24 Analysis ...................................................................................................................................... 25 Overview of Arguments by Chapter ......................................................................................... 26 II. BECOMING A COFFEE CONNOISSEUR ................................................................................... 31 The Sensory Consultant ................................................................................................................ 31 The Tongue Map ............................................................................................................................ 34 Post-Tongue Map .................................................................................................................... 36 Theorizing the Senses in Society ............................................................................................... 38 Becoming a Coffee Connoisseur................................................................................................ 42 Former Novice: Making the Ordinary Extraordinary ................................................... 44 From Skepticism to the “Aha” Moment ........................................................................... 47 vii Chapter Page Coffee Purity and Coffee as Centerpiece ......................................................................... 55 Expanded Purview of Sensory Experiences .................................................................... 60 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................ 62 III. TASTE FRAMEWORKS AND SENSE WORK ........................................................................ 64 Labor of Connoisseurship ............................................................................................................ 64 Producing Consistency with an Inconsistent Product ................................................... 68 Taste Frameworks .......................................................................................................................... 71 Palate Training: Fixing the Sensory Experiences of Baristas..................................... 77 Linking the Sensory and Mechanical ................................................................................ 87 Sense Work ...................................................................................................................................... 90 The Gateway Drug and the Long Play .............................................................................. 93 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................ 100 IV. Minimum Wage Connoisseurship .................................................................................................... 103 Coffee Waves .................................................................................................................................. 110 Everyday Boundary Maintenance.............................................................................................. 115 Hiring ................................................................................................................................................. 124 Minimum Wage Connoisseurship ............................................................................................. 129 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................ 134 V. Conclusion: Taste Economy ................................................................................................................ 137 Main Findings .................................................................................................................................. 137 Further Implications....................................................................................................................... 141 Future Directions ............................................................................................................................ 143 viii Chapter Page REFERENCES CITED ............................................................................................................................... 147 ix CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION After taking a sip from the logo-stamped ceramic mug I put all of my concentration into the flavor, experiencing