Two population science courses, Social and Economic Aspects of Human Fertility and Principles of Population Change, have been added to JHSPH OpenCourseWare.

Social and Economic Aspects of Human Fertility analyzes the correlates of fertility levels in societies and childbearing among individuals and couples. The course examines classical theories of fertility change at the societal level and contemporary critiques of these theories, and it also explores the determinants of fertility at the individual level, with an emphasis on differences in the timing of first birth and total family size by social class and ethnicity in developed and developing countries.

Principles of Population Change provides students with the basics of demography and the health implications of major contemporary population issues. Lectures explore population changes over time; elements of demography; child survival and mortality; family and households and demographic change; the demography of social and economic inequality, role of women, urbanization, migration and fertility. Finally, students examine world demographic patterns, synthesizing the data and issues surrounding the importance of population to public health.

Both courses are taught by Nan Astone, PhD, Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Education in the Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health.