U+ Online : Department of Anthropology : UMass Amherst

UMass Anthropology Online - U+ Course Offerings:

If you are interested in a U+ online course, use the search filters to explore the past, current and future class offerings. If you are unsure of which course(s) to choose please contact the Anthropology Advisor or if you have general questions about the U+ program or how to register contact: U+ Info.

Ready to enroll in classes? See the How to enroll guides based on your current relationship with UMass Amherst.

*Classes are subject to change/cancellation.

Academic Calendar

Summer 2026 U+ Online Courses

Fall 2026 U+ Online Courses

Winter 2027 U+ Online Courses

Spring 2027 U+ Online Courses

Course Descriptions U+ - Anthropology

UMass Anthropology offers several online courses each fall, winter, spring and summer for UMass degree and non-degree seeking students. These classes are administered by the UMass University Without Walls office (UWW). These courses serve a variety of students including UMass commuters, UMass students who live away from Amherst each winter and summer and want to take extra courses outside of fall and spring semesters, UMass degree-seeking seniors trying to finish up only a few remaining courses and credits away from Amherst, UMass students who want to take an online version of a UMass course along with their other face-to-face courses in a given semester, students taking non-degree Anthropology classes for personal interest or professional development, or non-degree UMass students who attend another college or university full time. Note: UMass degree-seeking students who take online University+ Anthropology courses in fall and spring semesters are subject to additional Univ+ course fees above and beyond standard tuition for the fall and spring. Contact the UMass University+ office for details and visit their  website to learn about course fees and billing, financial aid and how to enroll in these courses.

Click here to enroll and view all courses 
Once on the page, select Anthropology under the "Subject" drop down menu on the left side for current online course offerings in Anthropology. 

Online ANTHROPOLOGY Course Catalog (not all classes offered every semester; largest course offering during summer sessions)

ANTH 100 – Human Nature
Introduces the full range of human cultural and biological diversity. Human evolution, the rise and fall of civilizations, non-Western cultures, and the human condition in different societies today. Emphasis on the relationships among biological, environmental, and cultural factors. (Gen.Ed. SB, DG) 4 CR

ANTH 103 – Human Origins and Variation
The biological aspects of being human. Evolution, how and where the human species originated, and biological similarities and dissimilarities among contemporary human groups. (Gen.Ed. BS) 4 CR

ANTH 104 – Culture, Society and People
The nature of culture and its role in creating forms of social, economic, and political life in diverse historical and geographical contexts. Readings drawn from contemporary ethnographies of various peoples, analyzing the persistence of cultural diversity in the midst of global social and socioeconomic forces. (Gen.Ed. SB, DG) 4 CR
 

ANTH 105 - Language, Culture & Communication
  Language is an important cultural and political force that shapes all aspects of our individual lives and shared experiences as communities. This class explores the causes and consequences of how people learn to use language, of common beliefs about "accents," and of how language changes over time. We will investigate the power of language in many current issues such as health, climate change, racism, and transphobia. (Gen.Ed. SB, DG) 4 CR

ANTH 106 – Culture Through Film
Exploration of different societies and cultures, and of the field of cultural anthropology through the medium of film. Ethnographic and documentary films; focus on gender roles, ethnicity, race, class, religion, politics, and social change. (Gen.Ed. SB, DG) 4 CR
 

ANTH 150 - Ancient Civilizations
The emergence and character of the world's first civilizations: Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus Valley, Shang China, the Olmec and Maya of Mesoamerica, and the Chavin of Peru. Topics include the Neolithic background to the rise of civilizations and theories on the rise and fall of civilizations. (Gen.Ed. HS, DG) 4 CR
 

ANTH 208 - Human Ecology
The study of human/environmental interactions. Emphasis on biological and cultural responses by contemporary human groups to pervasive environmental problems. Examples from mountains, grasslands, deserts, and tropical forests. (Gen.Ed. SB, DG) 4 CR
 

ANTH 258 - Food and Culture
This course surveys how cultural anthropologists have studied the big questions about food and culture. How and why do people restrict what foods are considered "edible" or morally acceptable? How is food processed and prepared, and what does food tell us about other aspects of culture like gender and ethnic identity? How have power issues of gender, class, and colonialism shaped people's access to food? How has industrialization changed food, and where are foodways headed in the future? Along the way, students will read and see films about foodways in Europe, Africa, Asia, the United States, and Latin America. (Gen. Ed. SB, DG) 4 CR

ANTH 269 - North American Archaeology
The history of Native North Americans from their arrival on this continent, sometime between 80,000 and 12,000 years ago, up until their initial contact with Europeans. Archaeology as a source for the telling of history sensitive to voices often excluded from the written record. (Gen.Ed. HS, DU) 4 CR
 

ANTH 275 - Dragons Around the World
This course will expand the student’s horizon to include an understanding of the cultural and environmental diversity of cultures on every continent with human habitation. Legends are created to help humans to understand the natural and cultural events of their specific culture in their specific ecological niche. Analyzing dragon legends enables students to have a holistic perspective and awareness of the interrelationships among cultural systems, individuals and their environments (cultural and physical) on every continent from Africa to Asia to Oceania, the Americas and Europe. Students are introduced to over fifty cultural systems and their ecological niches. (Gen. Ed. SB, DG) 4 CR

ANTH 290STC - Anthropology of AI
We are living in an era of rapid technological and social change the Fourth Industrial Revolution - when the role and meaning of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies is hotly contested, which is an ideal moment to investigate this contestation with the frameworks and methods of anthropology. We will collaboratively chart a course between the full-throated techno-optimism and the cries of existential panic that characterize the popular discourse around AI in order to understand the real-world impacts that are unfolding from use of these technologies and how these uses are situated in historical and structural contexts. Each week we will grapple with cutting edge research from peer-reviewed scholarship to policy documents, think-tank reports, podcasts, videos, and news articles and anchor our analysis and understanding with anthropological frameworks. Our investigation will include deep-dive ethnographies by anthropologists working at the forefront of AI research, including explorations of ghost work, predatory data practices, and community resistance movements. Expect to walk away from this class feeling more informed about what's at stake in this moment of sociotechnical change and the ways that local experiences are interconnected with large-scale, structural forces.

ANTH 312 - Medical Anthropology
The course is designed to introduce students to the concepts, approaches, methods, and goals of medical anthropology. In doing so we will undertake an examination of the interplay between biology and culture and how health, illness, medicine and therapy exist in different cultures. Central to this concern is the idea that culture plays a central role in definitions of health and illness. After establishing a base for examining and defining medical anthropology, as well as taking a look at health, illness, and medicine within a range of different cultures, we will take a closer look at health issues in North America. There will also be particular emphasis on the diversity (plurality) of therapeutic and philosophical approaches to the body and medicine, and how these are culturally infused and reflective. This latter point will involve a critical analysis of biomedicine and various alternative therapies currently in practice in North America. 4 CR

ANTH 330 - Anthropology of Childhood
This course will introduce students to the anthropological study of children and youth drawing on classical and contemporary ethnography. Students will explore the ways in which childhood is socially constructed with a wide breadth and variety of meanings and expectations. Students will become familiar with some socio-historical and theoretical frameworks to help them think critically about childhood as an object of ethnographic study. We will challenge assumptions about childhood including depictions of children as passive receivers of cultural knowledge, and children as future workers. This course will engage students in ethnographic accounts that demonstrate a variety of contexts in which children learn and participate in everyday life outside of the classroom. In this course, we will consider how children and youth are active agents in shaping the world around them and conversely, how they are shaped by social, political and economic conditions. (Gen. Ed. SB, DG) 4 CR

ANTH 588 – Field Methods in Bioarchaeology and Forensic Anthropology
Introduces students to major questions in bioarchaeology and forensic anthropology, including what constitutes data, how excavations and fieldwork are conducted, and how field data are analyzed in the laboratory. Enrollment through application to instructor. (6 credits) Offered summer only by application.