Fall 2025
Art Appreciation
Art Appreciation (ARTS 1301) INSTRUCTOR CONTACT INFORMATION Instructor: James Clinton Rawls, MFA Email: jcrawls@lit.edu Office Phone: (409) 247-5415 Google Voice: (346) 291-7537 (for emergency texts only) Office Location: Technology Center, 227 Office Hours: MWF 9-12, TR 9-10:30 CREDIT 3 Semester Credit Hours (3 hours lecture) MODE OF INSTRUCTION Face-To-Face PREREQUISITE/CO-REQUISITE: None COURSE DESCRIPTION A general introduction to the visual arts designed to create an appreciation of the vocabulary, media, techniques, and purposes of the creative process. Students will critically interpret and evaluate works of art within formal, cultural, and historical contexts. COURSE OBJECTIVES Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to • Apply art terminology as it specifically relates to works of art • Demonstrate knowledge of art elements and principles of design • Differentiate between the processes and materials used in the production of various works of art • Critically interpret and evaluate works of art • Demonstrate an understanding of the impact of arts on culture REQUIRED TEXTBOOK AND MATERIALS None ATTENDANCE/PARTICIPATION POLICY Regular attendance and participation is crucial to your success in this course, and tardiness or early departures may result in a recorded absence. Frequent absences may result in zeroes for assignments and point deductions. Missing one quarter or more of all scheduled classes may result in automatic zeroes for future assignments or letter grade deductions on the final grade. Absences due to medical or personal reasons with proper documentation will not be counted against you, and absences for religious reasons will be respected as well. In all cases, medical, personal, and religious, prior notification is needed. DROP POLICY If a student wishes to drop a course, the student is responsible for initiating and completing the drop process by the specified drop date as listed on the Academic Calendar. If a student stops coming to class and fails to drop the course, the student will earn an “F” in the course. STUDENT EXPECTED TIME REQUIREMENT For every hour in class (or unit of credit), students should expect to spend at least two to three hours per week studying and completing assignments. For a 3-credit-hour class, students should prepare to allocate approximately six to nine hours per week outside of class in a 16- week session OR approximately twelve to eighteen hours in an 8-week session. Online/Hybrid students should expect to spend at least as much time in this course as in the traditional, face-to-face class. COURSE CALENDAR (DUE DATES SUBJECT TO CHANGE) DATE TOPIC READINGS (Due on this Date) ASSIGNMENTS (Due on this Date) 9/9 Unit One Avoiding Plagiarism Lesson, Unit One Lessons Plagiarism Quiz, Exam – Lesson 1 9/9 Unit One Lesson – The Purposes and Functions of Art Six Purposes Presentation 10/14 Unit Two Unit Two Lessons Exams – Lesson 2-4 10/14 Unit Two TED Talk – Inside Out Video Response Paper – Can Art Change the World? 11/4 Unit Three Unit Three Lessons Exams – Lesson 5-7 11/4 Unit Three None Presentation – Personal Identity and Art 12/2 Unit Four Unit Four Lessons Exams – 8-12 12/4 Final Project None Final Project COURSE EVALUATION Final grades will be calculated according to the following criteria: • Daily Grades 15% • Mid-Term 15% • Tests 50% • Final Project (Common Assignment) 20% GRADE SCALE • 90-100 A • 80-89 B • 70-79 C • 60-69 D • 0-59 F LIT does not use +/- grading scales ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE STATEMENT Lamar Institute of Technology (LIT) recognizes the recent advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI), such as ChatGPT, have changed the landscape of many career disciplines and will impact many students in and out of the classroom. To prepare students for their selected careers, LIT desires to guide students in the ethical use of these technologies and incorporate AI into classroom instruction and assignments appropriately. Appropriate use of these technologies is at the discretion of the instructor. Students are reminded that all submitted work must be their own original work unless otherwise specified. Students should contact their instructor with any questions as to the acceptable use of AI/ChatGPT in their courses. ACADEMIC DISHONESTY Students found to be committing academic dishonesty (cheating, plagiarism, AI, or collusion) may receive disciplinary action. Students need to familiarize themselves with the institution’s Academic Dishonesty Policy available in the Student Catalog & Handbook at http://catalog.lit.edu/content.php?catoid=3&navoid=80#academic-dishonesty. Plagiarism includes both a failure to cite sources/quotations and passing another’s words off as your own. Using AI to wholly or near wholly write assignments in this course is unacceptable and will result in a zero for an assignment. Assignments in this class are about you and are graded on the strength of your own ideas and response, so the work must be original and unique. If AI abuse is suspected on an assignment, this will be investigated thoroughly. The student will then be contacted for a face-to-face or virtual (camera on) meeting to discuss the assignment and the student’s methodology. If a student refuses or does not attend this meeting, a zero may be automatically rendered on the assignment. If a student commits academic dishonesty, namely plagiarism or AI abuse, then restrictions and special conditions may be placed on a student’s later assignments. These conditions may include further documentation at the time of submission, oral defenses, collaborative writing sessions with the professor, restrictions on topics and subject matter, etc. Students are expected to meet these conditions or they may receive a zero automatically. TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS The latest technical requirements, including hardware, compatible browsers, operating systems, etc. can be online at https://lit.edu/online-learning/online-learning-minimum-computer-requirements. A functional broadband internet connection, such as DSL, cable, or WiFi is necessary to maximize the use of online technology and resources. DISABILITIES STATEMENT The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 are federal anti-discrimination statutes that provide comprehensive civil rights for persons with disabilities. LIT provides reasonable accommodations as defined in the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, to students with a diagnosed disability. The Special Populations Office is located in the Eagles’ Nest Room 129 and helps foster a supportive and inclusive educational environment by maintaining partnerships with faculty and staff, as well as promoting awareness among all members of the Lamar Institute of Technology community. If you believe you have a disability requiring an accommodation, please contact the Special Populations Coordinator at (409)-951-5708 or email specialpopulations@lit.edu. You may also visit the online resource at Special Populations - Lamar Institute of Technology (lit.edu). STUDENT CODE OF CONDUCT STATEMENT It is the responsibility of all registered Lamar Institute of Technology students to access, read, understand and abide by all published policies, regulations, and procedures listed in the LIT Catalog and Student Handbook. The LIT Catalog and Student Handbook may be accessed at www.lit.edu. Please note that the online version of the LIT Catalog and Student Handbook supersedes all other versions of the same document. STARFISH LIT utilizes an early alert system called Starfish. Throughout the semester, you may receive emails from Starfish regarding your course grades, attendance, or academic performance. Faculty members record student attendance, raise flags and kudos to express concern or give praise, and you can make an appointment with faculty and staff all through the Starfish home page. You can also login to Blackboard or MyLIT and click on the Starfish link to view academic alerts and detailed information. It is the responsibility of the student to pay attention to these emails and information in Starfish and consider taking the recommended actions. Starfish is used to help you be a successful student at LIT. CONTACT PROCEDURES The best way to contact your professor is either through Blackboard Messages, or by LIT email. Blackboard Messages are direct and have the added benefit of keeping your information and questions within the class itself, so this is recommended. If you choose to email, when emailing your professor, include your name, course section number, and a detailed message so that questions and concerns may be addressed properly. Be specific and detailed and make no assumptions. Please be respectful and informative in all correspondence. The more information you provide, the more quickly your issues can be resolved. Please allow up to 24 hours for a response or 48 hours on a weekend. If you do not receive a response in time, please contact me again. At times, when a deadline is of the essence or an emergency message needs to be communicated, I may choose to contact you via Google Text. This is done to ensure you receive the message quickly. My Google Text number is (346) 291-7537. Only contact me this way if it’s a response to a message, or if you have an emergency and need to speak to me immediately. Otherwise, stick with Blackboard Messages and LIT email for most all class related business. CLASSROOM CONDUCT Working with your instructor and engaging with your peers is crucial to your success in this course. Please treat your professor and one another with the utmost respect and adherence afforded a professional. ECHS/DUAL CREDIT COURSE CONDUCT For Dual Credit students only – When working in an ECHS Dual Credit course, treat your in-class facilitator with respect. This individual is an equal partner of your professor, and working with them is critical to your success. Your facilitator and your professor are in regular contact regarding your work, classroom conduct, and attendance. All final decisions in every matter though will be rendered by your professor and no one else. GRADING For all assignments, rubrics are provided as well as “How To” videos to provide examples of how best to succeed. The most important thing to me is your ideas and response. If your work is honest, you can and should succeed, and I will work with you to ensure that happens. I encourage all students to show me their work early before the deadline to look it over for pre-grading. This is to help the student earn the best grade possible, strengthen their voice, and ensure success. Due to the volume of students, I may only have time to review your work once before the deadline. Be respectful of your professor’s time and the needs of other students. Unless otherwise specified, each assignment must be uploaded to the appropriate Blackboard link by 11:59 pm on the due date. Assignments turned in after the due date will be considered late. Please allow up to one week for assignments to be graded. Potentially longer for assignment redos. LATE WORK AND GRADE REDO POLICY If you miss a deadline, contact me immediately and I will work with you. Preferably, contact me and send your work in the same message. If a deadline is missed, the student will have one week to submit the assignment which will be accepted with a small point penalty. Late work submitted after this window will only be accepted at the instructor’s discretion and may receive a larger point penalty. If a student fails or misses a major assignment barring the final project, the student will have three days to contact the professor and request a redo. This redo will incur a small point penalty and will only be accepted at the instructor’s discretion. Repeated offenses such as frequent late work or multiple cases of academic dishonesty may render this privilege null and void. When calculating final grades, if a point penalty keeps a student from achieving a higher letter grade, all or some of the penalty may be rescinded.