Pirates are an inherently exciting subject of study because of their romantic, swashbuckling, counter-cultural appeal in popular media. But they also turn out to be a great topic for historical research. This course will emphasize pirates in the “Age of Sail,” the years 1500-1850 CE, with a focus on cross-cultural comparisons of the structure and economics of pirate communities (including questions of race, gender and sexual orientation) and the relationship between piracy and more “legitimate” forms of order. We will also explore the development of pirate mythology in literature, film, and other media, and its relationship to the reality of the pirate world. Finally, we will investigate recent pirate activities based in Somalia in the light of these historical and romantic traditions.