David Alvarez's research focuses on 18th century British literature and the European Enlightenment. He has a special interest in the Third Earl of Shaftesbury, and he presented a paper about the Third Earl at the estate of the 12th Earl of Shaftesbury in England in 2015.

Alvarez also has a special interest in coffee and the history of coffee – especially how coffee moved from the Middle East to Europe, and how coffee links East and West. He has taught a DePauw course, Coffee: Islam, Democracy, Globalization. He presented a paper about coffee at the Huntington Library in Los Angeles in April 2016.