The Lottery of Birth

This online course will look at both the big picture of the 'lottery of birth' and the smaller, human stories. You will examine the inequalities of birth, particularly being born rich or poor and being born female or male. You will also look at the lottery of birth as it relates to becoming a parent. You'll consider how individual countries and global organizations are responding to demographic changes and predictions and how this plays out in the lives of individual women and men in different parts of the world. You'll use a variety of disciplines in the course such as demography, health studies, sociology, comparative social policy, history, political science, and economics. This interdisciplinary nature brings different perspectives together to create fresh insights and provide a bridge for different ideas to feed into social and political change. Towards the end of the course, you'll have the opportunity to critically analyze an initiative of your choosing from your own country. The course does not assume any prior knowledge of the issues surrounding birth or inequalities. It is the postgraduate level and encourages personal research and data interpretation. Please note that this course includes some content of a sensitive nature, including discussions around abortion and female genital mutilation (FGM).