Global Problems of Population Growth
Population growth and its consequences form the core of this Yale course taught by the university's Open Yale Courses program, recorded from a Spring 2009 offering. Lectures and readings cover human fertility patterns, the demographic transition, and population policy debates, moving between global-scale demographic analysis and case studies of specific communities and countries. Topics include environmental carrying capacity, sustainability, economic and cultural drivers of demographic change, and the political, religious, and ethical controversies surrounding fertility control. The course draws on both developed and developing world examples, meeting twice weekly for 75-minute sessions in its original Yale College format. Materials include full video lectures and assigned readings under a Creative Commons license, with no cost to access any part of the course.