Syllabus Checklist Snapshot
American History I (HIST 1301.2B1) (Summer I 2026) CREDIT 3 Semester Credit Hours (3 hours lecture, 0 hours lab) Online PREREQUISITE/CO-REQUISITE: TSI Complete for Reading COURSE DESCRIPTION A survey of the social, political, economic, cultural, and intellectual history of the United States from the pre-Columbian era to the Civil War/Reconstruction period. United States History I includes the study of pre-Columbian, colonial, revolutionary, early national, slavery and sectionalism, and the Civil War/Reconstruction eras. Themes that may be addressed in United States History I include: American settlement and diversity, American culture, religion, civil and human rights, technological change, economic change, immigration and migration, and creation of the federal government. COURSE OBJECTIVES Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to • Create an argument through the use of historical evidence. • Analyze and interpret primary and secondary sources. • Analyze the effects of historical, social, political, economic, cultural, and global forces on this period of United States history. • Demonstrate Critical Thinking Skills - creative thinking, innovation, inquiry and analysis, evaluation and synthesis of information. • Demonstrate Communication Skills - effective development, interpretation and expressions of ideas through written, oral, and visual communication. • Demonstrate Social Responsibility - intercultural competence, knowledge of civic responsibility, and the ability to engage effectively in regional, national, and global communities. • Demonstrate Personal Responsibility - ability to connect choices, actions, and consequences to ethical decision-making. INSTRUCTOR CONTACT INFORMATION Instructor: Dexter Babin, II Email: dababin@lit.edu Office Phone: (409) 247-4856 Office Location: TEC 234
Office Hours: By Appointment REQUIRED TEXTBOOK AND MATERIALS A digital copy of the textbook will be provided to students on blackboard. Students will need the ability to watch a feature film for their final assignment. Three different films will be provided on blackboard if a student cannot locate a film. ATTENDANCE POLICY While attendance will not be taken in an online class, the instructor will monitor the amount of time students spend on both blackboard and their assignments. If the instructor feels that a student may be falling behind, or not devoting enough time to their coursework, a flag in starfish will be raised. DROP POLICY If you wish to drop a course, you are responsible for initiating and completing the drop process by the specified date as listed in the College Calendar on the Student Success web page. If you stop coming to class and fail to drop the course, you will earn an “F” in the course. COURSE CALENDAR *All assignments are due at midnight of the due date. DATE TOPIC ASSIGNMENTS (Due on this Date) 6/1 - 6/5 Class Intro/Welcome -Watch the Intro Video/Read the Syllabus. -Have your film picked (Due Friday, June 5th at midnight) -Complete “Getting to Know You” Assignment (Due Friday, June 5th at midnight) 6/1 – 6/15 Unit I Work Unit I Folder 6/15 Rough Draft Prompt Due Cultural Artifact Folder Upload Link 6/15 – 6/29 Unit II Work Due Unit II Folder 7/7 Unit III Work Due Unit III Folder 7/7 Final Paper Due Cultural Artifact Folder Upload Link
COURSE EVALUATION Final grades will be calculated according to the following criteria: Final grades will be calculated according to the following criteria: 1. Exams (Three) 40% of final grade 2. Rough Draft Assignment 10% of final grade 3. Final Cultural Artifact Assignment 20% of final grade 4. Weekly Assignments/Participation/Attendance 30% of final grade GRADE SCALE • 90-100 A • 80-89 B • 70-79 C • 60-69 D • 0-59 F TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS For the latest technical requirements, including hardware, compatible browsers, operating systems, etc., review the Minimum Computer and Equipment Requirements on the LIT Online Experience page. 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. 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. 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. ADDITIONAL COURSE POLICIES/INFORMATION 1. QUIZZES: Students will take quizzes online. There are two types of quizzes: primary source reading quizzes and lecture review quizzes. a. Primary source reading quizzes: These quizzes are worth between 10 - 20 points each, unless otherwise noted. These quizzes are based on the information the student reads from the primary source readings, as scheduled. b. Lecture review quizzes: These quizzes are worth between 10 - 20 points each, unless otherwise noted. These quizzes are to test the student’s knowledge over lecture material and serve as a review for the class. c. Students that miss assignments (like quizzes) cannot make up the assignment unless the student has a documented sickness or a documented school-related absence. The student must receive permission from the instructor to makeup a missed assignment. d. Any student caught cheating on a quiz will receive a zero for that quiz. For online classes, cheating includes using information found online, like Wikipedia or other
similar sites. e. Quizzes will be graded within a week of their submission. f. Weekly assignments will be accepted late with a penalty of 2-points per day at the instructor’s discretion. Since the assignment has been turned in late, students should expect a reasonable delay in receiving their grade. g. All quizzes will be proctored to help prevent unethical AI use. Suspected unethical AI use will receive an automatic zero. If a student wishes to appeal this decision, it is their responsibility to contact the instructor. The student will have to justify or properly explain their answers to receive a grade reversal. Grade reversals are given at the discretion of the instructor. 2. EXAMS: study material for the exams will come primarily from the recorded lectures, as well as the material that students read in the primary source documents. Exams are worth 40 points total. a. Students that miss a test are only allowed to make up the exam if the student has an unavoidable emergency. The student must contact the instructor as soon as possible to schedule a make-up exam with proper documentation. b. Any student caught cheating on an exam will receive a zero on that exam. Cheating on an exam includes using sources like Wikipedia to answer questions. DO NOT USE WIKIPEDIA TO STUDY FOR THE EXAM. c. All exams will be proctored to help prevent unethical AI use. Suspected unethical AI use will receive an automatic zero. If a student wishes to appeal this decision, it is their responsibility to contact the instructor. The student will have to justify or properly explain their answers to receive a grade reversal. Grade reversals are given at the discretion of the instructor. d. Exams will be graded within a week of their submission. 3. CULTURAL ARTIFACT ASSIGNMENT: Students will turn in their rough draft assignment and their final submission for the Cultural Artifact assignment to Blackboard on the due date scheduled (or earlier). Students are required to check the “SafeAssign” box so that their assignment is checked for plagiarism through the online software. a. There is a list of approved films in the “Cultural Artifact” assignment folder for the class. The student gets to pick ONE film out of the two that they want to watch for the assignment. If a student has a film they would like to pick that isn’t on the approved list, it must be first approved by the instructor. There are two portions to this assignment: a rough draft assignment and then the final submission of the
assignment. The Rough Draft assignment is not a typical rough draft of your final paper. It is a question-and-answer assignment. b. Students can submit their Rough Draft assignment late; however, there is a 10-point deduction for each 24-hour day that the assignment is turned in late (this includes weekends). The instructor will not accept the final Cultural Artifact assignment paper after the due date. Students will receive a zero for the assignment if they do not turn it in. c. Plagiarism will not be tolerated. All assignments are checked for plagiarism, which includes: not properly citing quotes from the book, slightly changing the words of sentences that are not the intellectual property of the student, copying a previous student’s assignment, or improperly using sources from the internet. If the student plagiarizes on the Cultural Artifact assignment, the student will receive a zero for the assignment. The online software will show some plagiarism on the assignment, especially if you use quotes from the book. Just make sure you are properly citing the quote in accordance with Chicago style. Suspected unethical AI use will receive an automatic zero. If a student wishes to appeal this decision, it is their responsibility to contact the instructor. The student will have to justify or properly explain their paper to receive a grade reversal. Grade reversals are given at the discretion of the instructor. Any assignment turned in with fictitious citations will receive an automatic zero with no chance of an appeal. d. Rough Draft Prompts/Final Papers will be graded within a week of their submission. e. No work will be accepted after the last day of class. Anything not turned in by the last class day will receive an automatic zero. 4. COMMUNICATION WITH STUDENTS: The instructor will reply to all appropriate forms of communication (e-mails, blackboard messages, and phone calls) within a 24-hour period on weekdays and a 48-hour period on weekends/holidays. Students should be professional and include their name and class number/section when contacting their instructor.