By Robert Wyman | Global Population Growth Lecture 20 of 24
Rates of teen pregnancy in the US are quite high, in contrast to European countries which have much lower rates, especially those with liberal attitudes toward sexuality. Traditionally, puberty and marriage were simultaneous. Now, the many years spent in education leaves a long time between those life stages. Sex education is not particularly strong. Contraception has allowed the rate of teen pregnancy to decrease steadily in spite of the fact that teen sex is consistently increasing. Non-marital childbearing is high in all industrialized countries.
This survey course introduces students to the important and basic material on human fertility, population growth, the demographic transition and population policy. Topics include: the human and environmental dimensions of population pressure, demographic history, economic and cultural causes of demographic change, environmental carrying capacity and sustainability. Political, religious and ethical issues surrounding fertility are also addressed. The lectures and readings attempt to balance theoretical and demographic scale analyzes with studies of individual humans and communities. The perspective is global with both developed and developing countries included.
