HIS 3390 (LUOA), HIUS 390 (LUO): History of Virginia
07/01/2018 to 12/31/2199 • Modified 05/16/2025
Course Description
Next Start Date*
June 23, 2025
LUOA Equivalent Course*
- HIS 3390: History of Virginia, 3 LUO credits.
Program Restrictions*
- DPL: Part Time Student (SPCA-DPL-D) Excluded
Prerequisite Requirements*
Any of the following:
- HIS 3221 previously completed with a minimum grade of D
or - HIS 3222 previously completed with a minimum grade of D
High School Diploma Requirements*
- Contributes .5 credits to LUOA – History/Social Science, History Requirement.
Rationale
This course will provide the student with an understanding of the history of Virginia and show how the state fits into broader American history. It will most benefit the student who is interested in a more detailed understanding of the importance of Virginia as well as the student who is pursuing a career requiring a specialized knowledge of the history of Virginia.
Course Assignment
Textbook readings and lecture presentations
After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.
Reflection Essay Assignment
The student will read the Virginia Declaration of Rights and write a 2-3-page essay (not including the title page or bibliography) discussing prominent ideas, similarities with other famous documents, and how this document shows the influence of Enlightenment ideas on Virginia and America’s founders. All citations for this assignment (footnotes and bibliography) should be formatted in proper current Turabian format. (CLO: B, C, D)
Historic Site Project Assignment
The student will virtually or physically tour a historic site in Virginia and create a 2-4 minute presentation that focuses on the site’s physical appearance, the history of the event/issue/topic commemorated by the site, what the student learned, and why the site is important. The student may virtually tour a historic site on Encyclopedia Virginia’s virtual tours page, or, if the student lives in Virginia, he/she may physically tour a historic site of his/her choosing within the state. To fully answer the questions assigned to the student regarding the site, the student may supplement information collected on the tour with additional research from scholarly sources, if needed.
The student’s presentation should contain a minimum of 3 slides (not including the title and bibliography slides) and 1 image, recorded narration on each slide addressing the assigned questions, and a bibliography slide citing all sources consulted in proper current Turabian formatting. Parenthetical citations should be used for in-text citations for the purposes of this presentation. Options on creating the presentation in PowerPoint, Adobe Spark Web, and Canva have been provided within the assignment instructions. The student should be sure to submit the presentation in Canvas as a video file (or, if the student used Adobe Web Spark or Canva, he/she has the option to submit a publicly accessible URL to the video). (CLO: B, C, D)
Research Project Assignments (2)
Research Project: Annotated Bibliography Assignment
The student will compile an annotated bibliography in proper current Turabian format that contains 1 scholarly journal article, 1 book, and 1 electronic source he/she can use for the research paper. The student should evaluate each source to verify it conforms to the scholarly sources guidance under Course Policies in this syllabus, deals with the student’s chosen research topic, and is about Virginia history. The bibliography will include a paragraph with no fewer than 120 words following each citation that summarizes the article and provides an explanation of its relevance to the chosen research paper prompt. The summary must be followed by a footnote formatted in Turabian style. (CLO: D, E)
Research Project: Research Paper Assignment
The student will write a research paper in proper current Turabian format that focuses on a prominent theme in Virginia history. The student will choose one of four provided topics in order to write the research paper. The paper must include at least 5 scholarly sources (not counting the course textbook or the Bible) and be a minimum of 5 pages (not counting the title page or the bibliography). The research paper must contain a properly formatted bibliography and in-text citations (footnotes) for all direct quotations and paraphrases from the student’s sources. (CLO: A, B, C, D, E)
Quiz: Virginia Geography
The quiz will cover information found in the assigned study material for the corresponding module. The quiz will be open-book/open-notes, contain 6 matching and fill-in-the-blank questions, allow for one attempt, and have a 20-minute time limit. (CLO: B)
Quizzes: Module (7)
Each quiz will cover the assigned study materials for the corresponding module. Each quiz will be open-book/open-notes, contain 19 multiple-choice and 1 short-response questions, allow for one attempt, and have a 1-hour time limit. (CLO: B)
Quiz: Final Exam
The quiz will cover the assigned study materials for the corresponding module. The quiz will be open-book/open-notes (it is prohibited to reference material outside of this course for this quiz), contain 26 multiple-choice questions and 2 essay questions, allow for one attempt, and have a 2-hour time limit. (CLO: B)
*Course specifics are tentative and subject to change each year. For the most current information, please refer to the Course Registration Tool.
