Pirates and Power: Learning Activities

Choose Your Own Adventure: Interpreting a Primary Source

Students break into small groups and closely examine one of the sources on display with one of the course instructors. Students are encouraged to take photos of the source to refer back to later while completing your course assignments. As you examine the source, consider the following:

• How easy is the source to read? What does it say?
• Can you tell when was it made, by and for whom?
• How is it using ideas about piracy? How specific are its portrayals?

Learning Outcomes

Students will:

• Gain comfort with pre-1850 historical sources in English.
• Experiment with close reading and interpretation of passages within their chosen source.
• Discuss the immediate and broad contexts of the documents with their peers.
• Gain ideas and approaches that can be applied to other source materials for their capstone project.

Activity Materials

A selection of materials used in previous visits are available in the gallery below.  Some guiding questions specific to each document are included underneath each image.

Introduction:

How have pirates been described through the ages, and how have those perceptions changed? UF's Special and Area Studies collections contains a wide range of materials dealing with the history, lore, and punishment of piracy, from printed books made during the period of Atlantic exploration to the portrayals of pirates in film and media.

Specific Learning Outcomes

The QUEST course's Capstone Requirement is for students to prepare an analytical essay contrasting a work of fiction or contemporary culture with historical sources. This course visit introduces students to a range of historical and popular materials on the history of piracy, encourages them to compare primary sources from different places and times, and allows for in-depth, small group discussion of a selection of source materials.

Contact Time: 50 minutes

Class Size: 25 - 50 students per section (Discussion groups of larger class visiting with their TAs)

Class Level: Introductory. The instructors assume no prior knowledge of the materials on display or the handling and use of special collections. Materials should be selected that do not require extensive time to contextualize or a large amount of manipulation.