Most students at Colgate University might have a few questions after hearing about a class called Pirate Rhetoric. What even is Pirate Rhetoric? What could you possibly do in that class? And how do pirates, of all things, relate to contemporary social issues like justice, identity or violence? Professor Robert Mills, assistant professor of writing and rhetoric, explores these questions alongside Colgate students in his unique class.
Mills explained how his educational background inspired him to propose such an abnormal class.
“My Ph.D. is in communication studies … and my specific area is rhetoric. I teach classes that basically ask the question, ‘How does language work when it’s used in the world?’” Mills said. “Pirate Rhetoric is the class that’s most connected to my research interests. I’m currently working on my first book, which is on sovereignty and maritime piracy in the early 19th-century United States, and that’s where that class came from.”
But what inspired students to take this class? Senior Kat Metcalf explained what drew her in.
“I was initially interested in this class because of the rhetorical and historical aspects of the course. Being a [writing and rhetoric] minor, it intrigued me how piracy was portrayed and currently still is portrayed within journals, articles, narratives and texts,” Metcalf said.
On the other hand, senior Riley Raymond emphasized how previous students enjoyed the class, which influenced her decision to add the class to her schedule.
“I chose Pirate Rhetoric because one of my teammates from the class of ’24 told me that it was her favorite class she’s ever taken at Colgate, and told me that I had to take it at some point before graduating,” Raymond said.
When asked to describe the course in his own words for those who aren’t familiar with it, Mills stressed the guiding questions that serve as the foundation of the class.
“[In terms of] how the course is conceptualized overall, we are asking the question ‘what does it mean to call someone a pirate?’, and not just what do we mean by the word ‘pirate’, but what happens when people are called pirates?” Mills said. “It’s asking the students to question what they think a pirate is, and the cultural associations they have with piracy, but also what it means to call someone a criminal, what it means to call someone an enemy — a figure that is outside of the law or outside of the state.”
When asked how he would describe the course to his fellow colleagues, Mills emphasized the importance of historical and rhetorical perspectives.
“I would describe it slightly differently — that it’s doing all that, but that the class is really trying to teach people how to think about history from a rhetorical standpoint,” Mills said.“Not just can we accumulate facts and say ‘this is what happened,’ but can we look at the way that people communicated and try to figure out how they were creating meaning?”
Metcalf noted how the course connected many different fields, which assisted the students in seeing the overarching themes of the class.
“Pirate rhetoric is the study and understanding of constructing what constitutes a ‘pirate’ and what ‘the pirate’ is,” Metcalf said. “Studying the legal, social, economic and political contexts of pirate rhetoric helps us as students try to define what piracy is, as a somewhat independent civilization in itself.”
While this class focuses on analyzing archival texts from centuries ago, it also emphasizes being able to apply this analysis to today’s world.
“The connection to criminality and today’s world has been striking to me. We often discuss an issue and then relate it to a similar context within the modern world,” Metcalf said. “Discussing piracy has added depth and ambiguity to contemporary social issues.”
Raymond emphasized similar sentiments to Metcalf about the relevance of the class and how the class has allowed students to interpret current issues through a different framework.
“A lot of what we are learning about pirates can be related to current political and social issues. When discussing the ways pirates functioned, we discuss a lot of racial and gender issues. What leads the deepest discussions in our class, however, are those relating to the ethics of issues surrounding piracy,” Raymond said. “These discussions are often linked back to current political issues, which can be very eye-opening — to view these issues through such a unique light.”
Mills also emphasized parallels between the pirates of the past and the terrorists of contemporary times throughout the course.
“Especially right now in 2025, with what’s happening in the Caribbean, we’ve had a lot of discussions about what it means to call somebody who is trafficking drugs a terrorist,” Mills said. “What does this authorize? How does that make us feel about them, but also, what does that let the government do?”
When asked about her favorite moments of the course, Raymond mentioned a class discussion of banana ketchup and the opportunity to try the unique condiment.
“Honestly, every class is always very fun and entertaining, as you never fully know where [Mills] is going to steer a class discussion. One day, we were discussing something related to trading goods across the Atlantic, and we somehow got to the topic of bananas and banana ketchup,” Raymond said. “No one in my class had heard of banana ketchup before, which shocked Professor Mills … A few classes later, he brought in some he had ordered for us, and we all went around and tried it.”
Metcalf noted her enjoyment of class activities where students could envision themselves as officials regulating pirate activity.
“One day, we had to get into groups and make a set of ‘pirate laws’ based on the belief systems we had on a reading. Then, each group had to read another group’s laws and decide how to steal something on their hypothetical ship,” Metcalf said.
Both students could not stress enough how exceptional a professor Mills was, as well as how unpredictable and fun the class was. While Mills will not be teaching Pirate Rhetoric next semester in spring 2026, students interested in similar classes should consider taking a different course in the Department of Writing and Rhetoric. Mills will be offering a course titled Controversy and the Public Sphere during the Spring 2026 semester, which will provide students with a unique perspective on how controversies shape societies.
