Exploring AI Literacy Through a Semester-Long Course

The growing use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education has raised questions about students' understanding of responsible use and academic integrity. This descriptive study examines students' experiences in a semester-long AI literacy course in a humanities program at a large public university in the United States. The course addressed AI history, capabilities and limitations, academic integrity, and ethical considerations, and provided structured opportunities to explore multiple tools. Pre-course (N = 31) and post-course (N = 25) surveys examined tool familiarity, reported use, perceived usefulness, awareness of limitations, and self-reported understanding of AI-related academic integrity. At the end of the course, respondents described more task-specific tool selection, greater attention to evaluating outputs, and increased confidence in identifying appropriate uses of AI. These findings reflect perceptions and reported practices rather than independently assessed AI literacy or ethical competence. Because the instruments differed, respondents were not individually matched, and no comparison group was included, the findings cannot establish causal improvement. The study discusses implications for AI literacy instruction in humanities and language education and for future assessment of students' AI-related knowledge and practices.