Details

• Duration: 14 weeks [spring (Jan-Apr), summer (May-Aug), and fall (Sep-Dec)]

• Credits: 3 graduate credits if taken through Antioch University

• Tuition: $1000 USD through Antioch University’s Try Us Out Program to receive 3 graduate credits; contact us to register directly through Population Balance.

• Prerequisites: None

• Format: Discussion-based weekly virtual Zoom salons, with two major Capstone presentations

• Materials: Books, journals, media articles, films, short videos, podcasts

• Time commitment: 6-7 hours each week

• Learning focus: Inter-disciplinary introspective and personally-transformative work in addition to knowledge and skill building around effective education and advocacy using the principles of humane education

• Audience: Planetary health advocates, sexual and reproductive health and rights advocates, human rights advocates, environmentalists, animal advocates, degrowth advocates, and anyone interested in procreative autonomy and ethics as it relates to personal and reproductive liberation as well as our obligations to other beings and the planet.

• Assessment: Narrative assessment with evaluative descriptors instead of grades, ranging from Outstanding to Satisfactory

Course Description

The decision to have children or not is arguably one of the most important choices we make in our lives. It is largely regarded as a personal and isolated decision and a natural rite of passage into adulthood. But how personal really is our decision about whether, when and with whom to have a child. Pronatalism—a set of socio-cultural, ethno-political, religious, and patriarchal pressures that encourage, incentivize, or coerce reproduction—remains largely absent from our ‘family planning’ discourse. Human population has doubled in the last 50 years, growing from approximately four billion in 1970 to eight billion currently. There is rising public awareness that overpopulation and rampant overconsumption are driving climate change, resource scarcity, and biodiversity collapse, yet it is a challenging issue to discuss.

In this course, we will examine a range of cultural narratives and national policies, past and present, used to manipulate fertility rates - many based in the legacy of institutional patriarchy, racism, classism, ableism, sexism, and nationalism, among others - and their implications for human rights and reproductive autonomy. There will be a special focus on the pervasive influence on pronatalism and human supremacy as drivers of population growth, as well as reproductive and ecological injustice. We will also examine the implications of the current reluctance in the international conservation and development community to address population directly as a driver of multiple social and ecological crises. Participants will develop techniques for learning and teaching about these issues in a way that invites dialogue and positive solutions.

Student Testimonials

Population denialists purport to worry about coercive policies when it comes to facing the challenge of a bloated human population size, and its continued growth, in a world racked with crises. Yet what they miss is one of the greatest coercion rackets in history, which remains in good working order to the present day: pronatalism. Pronatalism refers to the sociocultural, political, economic, military, and religious pressures on girls and women to bear children, as if motherhood is their main mission and destiny in life. Nandita’s online course, “Pronatalism, Overpopulation, and the Planet,” is an erudite, conversationally lively, multimedia exploration of the pervasive forces of pronatalism and how to supersede them, personally and collectively. Sign up for this cutting edge course to understand the still invisible force of pronatalism and the ways it is driving overshoot.

- Eileen Crist, Associate Professor Emerita of the Department of Science, Technology, and Society at Virginia Tech

The course on Pronatalism and Overpopulation was an eye opener to many issues. As an Economist, the goal of economic growth typically dominates most discussions on human welfare improvements, with little consideration for environmental impacts. Subtle incentives are also present for encouraging population growth, given acknowledged linkages with increased consumption, production and economic growth. I came away with a more solid appreciation of the need to redefine human wellbeing beyond just income and economic growth measures. Additionally, there needs to be more open discussions on various factors (e.g., political, economic, cultural) that implicitly or explicitly serve to encourage unwanted/mistimed births, despite noted adverse, often differentiated, effects on certain people (e.g., women and children) and the planet.

- Nkechi S. Owoo, Health and Demographic Economist, Department of Economics, University of Ghana

I was part of the group that piloted this course, and I couldn't wait for the discussions every week. As a career educator, there's nothing that thrills me more than a body of knowledge I thought I understood, only to find out I'd been glimpsing nothing but the very tip of the iceberg! "Pronatalism and Overpopulation" opened my eyes, mind, and heart to the impact of having children on a whole spectrum of personal, cultural and global issues. We explored everything from personal choice-making and individual/cultural pressures to the implications of overpopulation for human rights, gender, biodiversity, and ecological overshoot. Nandita handles the material and guides the discussion like the passionate, professional, meticulously-informed educator that she is! 

- Mary Pat Champeau, Humane Education Program Director, Institute for Humane Education/Antioch University

As a journalist I am constantly looking for new ways to see and interpret the world around me. The Pronatalism and Overpopulation Course with Nandita Bajaj did just that. From the conversations in the weekly salons, to the course material I gained invaluable perspective on pronatalist policies that exist in my home country of Kenya. Having this knowledge has motivated me to use my platform as a media practitioner to challenge societal norms and use the tool of storytelling to hopefully change a mind or two and even shift policy.

- Victoria Rubadiri, Journalist, Kenya

Nandita Bajaj's course on Pronatalism and Overpopulation opens a gateway to a comprehensive understanding of interlinked societal themes. The insights from this enriching journey resonated remarkably with my work in animal rights in Germany. Nandita's work does more than educate; it equips participants with practical tools, insightful recommendations, and methods for gaining a more integrative perspective on complex issues. This course profoundly transformed my understanding and granted me a more holistic approach.

-Stephan Gelenscher, Animal Protection Advocate and Educator, Germany

I learned so much from Nandita’s course, even though I have been reading about and speaking on the human population issue for over 30 years. The reading and video assignments were varied and fascinating. Instead of just a western/ North American worldview, I was exposed to perspectives from other countries. The concept of pronatalism was new to me, even after my years of study, and class discussions among diverse students were educational. This class was a safe space to talk about all sorts of issues: sex, women’s equality, what makes our lives happy and the choices we make to get there, societal expectations etc.. I highly recommend this course!

- Alexandra Paul, Activist & Speaker , US

Taking Nandita's course was paradigm-shifting: pronatalism has given me a revolutionary lens through which to consider my own life choices, but also to understand everything going on in the world, from overpopulation, to climate change, to the oppression of women and other marginalized groups.

- Marine Galvez, Facilitator & Consultant for Social Justice Education, France

Nandita's course helped me understand the ramifications of having a child in societies that pressure people to procreate. As someone who wanted children for many years but delayed during the COVID-19 pandemic, I feel grateful to have had this opportunity to process the many  impacts of childbearing on (human) mothers and children, other animals, and the environment. I never felt shamed for my desire to parent while participating; instead, I came away from the course feeling that the knowledge I gained will serve me no matter what choice I make about having children. Through rich analytical materials and thoughtful prompts for reflection, this course opened my eyes and heart to many issues (such as the lack of reproductive autonomy in communities and cultures across the globe) and possibilities (including the options of having an only child, adopting, and living child-free). As a former volunteer doula and continual advocate for birthing justice and empowerment, I now see maternal and child health as aligned with anti-pronatalism, rather than in competition. I will forever be thankful for taking this class!

- Elena Lindstrom, Higher Ed Professional and Graduate Student, Humane Education Antioch University, US

Going into the course with Nandita, I knew myself enough to trust in my choice to not want to be a parent, but I still didn't feel confident talking about that decision with many others. Through my time in the course, learning with and from those who are mothers by choice, those who are mothers because they felt they did not have a choice, and those who are child-free whether by choice or not, I came to better understand the far-reaching impacts of pronatalism, a term I was largely unfamiliar with. Nandita's course not only made me feel empowered in my own decision-making when it comes to parenthood but also helped me to feel more confident in articulating my decision to others. It is high time we begin critically examining the role that pronatalism plays in our world and in the individual lives of people with wombs. Nandita's course is an excellent first step in that journey and one that will help people to recognize that parenthood is a choice and one that should be theirs alone. Whether you are already a parent, want to become a parent, do not want to have children, or cannot, this course is an incredibly powerful opportunity for anyone to begin thinking more critically about the systems that shape our world and how those systems influence even our most intimate and personal life experiences.

- Kyla Cruz, Writer and Humane Educator

This course helped me to name and better understand the societal pressures to have kids (pronatalism) that I had been experiencing. As someone who never wanted my own children, I was constantly told I'd change my mind or that my life wouldn't have purpose without them. I now call myself childfree and feel that understanding pronatalist pressures gave me more confidence to be unapologetic about my choice. Considering the toll having a child can have on one's body, mental health, finances, time, as well as the problems that humans, the environment, and other animals face as a result of our unsustainable population size, I don't think anyone should be pressured or forced to have biological children. For these reasons, I am anti-pronatalist.

- Leslie, Student, Antioch University

Critically analyzing a diverse array of evidence showing that pronatalism is running rampant across the globe, strengthened my ability to recognize coercive behavior from the structures of our society. I am now better able to see how a select few create chaos, inequality, and a system of valuation based on the notion of limitless exploitation of other people, animals, and the environment. I feel more equipped than ever to help confront those forces, and despite the constant barrage of bad news in the media and around the world, I am somehow, miraculously, left with a sense of possibility and logical hope for the future of our species. I attribute this to our professor.

- Graduate Student, MEd Humane Education Antioch University