The Lottery of Birth
Birth is a lottery. Where, when and to whom you are born and the society into which you are born will influence your life chances.
21,116 enrolled on this course
Duration
4 weeksWeekly study
3 hours100% online
How it works
The Lottery of Birth
Explore the inequalities between rich and poor, female and male
This online course will look at the big picture of the lottery of birth and the smaller, human stories. You will examine key inequalities, such as being born rich or poor, female or male.
You will consider how individual countries and global organisations 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.
The course draws on demography, health studies, sociology, comparative social policy, history, political science and economics, to bring new perspectives and fresh insights.
Syllabus
Week 1
The lottery of birth
Chances
Birth is a lottery. Where and when you are born, who your family are and the society into which you are born will profoundly influence your chances in life.
Challenges
Inequalities affect each of us. Much of this inequality is predetermined by the situation into which we are born.
Changes
Explore where inequalities come from and some of the ways they can be addressed.
Week 2
Giving birth
Changes
The survival and care of young children, and the strength and influence of ‘the family’ as a key social institution has long reflected wider considerations and concerns about the continuation and future of particular societies.
Choices
Everyday decisions about whether or not to have children, whether to have another child, whether to delay, whether to use contraception or abortion or whether to abort a girl child are made by women and men around the world.
Challenges
So how do countries respond to choices about childbearing made by individuals? Countries can adopt either ‘pro-natalist’ (encouraging and supporting) or ‘anti-natalist’ (discouraging and unsupportive) approaches.
Week 3
Being born
Challenges
The ideal of a safe birth, set within women’s reproductive health choices is endlessly challenged by political, demographic and economic upheavals. Families too, are subject to change driven by new ideas, values and beliefs.
Changes
While policies can be created to value girls and women, it is also as much about individual experience between people and changing attitudes towards girls and women
Choices
The world has changed dramatically in the past 100 years, from technological advances such as mobile phones and the internet to social and political changes and scientific and medical advances.
Week 4
Lottery of birth in the twenty-first century
Choices
The challenges of inequality, alongside those of demographic changes and climate change, are, arguably, the biggest issues of our time and of our children’s and grandchildren’s futures.
Challenges
Hear from leading thinkers in the field of inequalities, about the changes they think we could make and what effect this would have.
Changes
Looking to the future, research and comment on a development affecting the lottery of birth in your own country.
When would you like to start?
Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.
Available now
Learning on this course
On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.
What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...
- Discuss inequality and engage with data, arguments and ideas that are circulating at the moment
- Describe how inequality relates to income and wealth, health and education on a national and international scale
- Compare the choices faced by individuals and the challenges this creates for countries.
- Summarise the politics, ideas and history that have shaped the lottery of birth in the past and in the present
- Assess how parental choices are made by individuals within the wider political, social and cultural contexts that shape their lives
- Evaluate what is being done worldwide to address birth inequalities
- Reflect on some of the challenges that women and girls face all over the world simply because they were born female
- Demonstrate your understanding about the causes and consequences of inequalities, and the lottery of birth
Who is the course for?
The course does not assume any prior knowledge of the issues surrounding birth or inequalities. It is post-graduate 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).
Who will you learn with?
Dr Pam Foley is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies at The Open University.
Dr Manik Gopinath is a Lecturer in the Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies at The Open University
Who developed the course?
The Open University
As the UK’s largest university, The Open University (OU) supports thousands of students to achieve their goals and ambitions via supported distance learning, helping to fit learning around professional and personal life commitments.
Established
1969Location
Milton Keynes, UKWorld ranking
Top 510Source: Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2020
Ways to learn | Buy this course | Subscribe & save | Limited access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Choose the best way to learn for you! | $79/one-off payment | $244.99 for a whole year Automatically renews | Free |
| Fulfill your current learning need | Develop skills to further your career | Sample the course materials | |
| Access to this course | tick | tick | Access expires 16 Feb 2025 |
| Access to 1,000+ courses | cross | tick | cross |
| Learn at your own pace | tick | tick | cross |
| Discuss your learning in comments | tick | tick | tick |
| Certificate when you're eligible | Printed and digital | Digital only | cross |
Cancel for free anytime |
Ways to learn
Choose the best way to learn for you!
Subscribe & save
$244.99 for a whole year
Automatically renews
Develop skills to further your career
- Access to this course
- Access to 1,000+ courses
- Learn at your own pace
- Discuss your learning in comments
- Digital certificate when you're eligible
Cancel for free anytime
Buy this course
$79/one-off payment
Fulfill your current learning need
- Access to this course
- Learn at your own pace
- Discuss your learning in comments
- Printed and digital certificate when you’re eligible
Limited access
Free
Sample the course materials
- Access expires 16 Feb 2025
Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades) Sale price available until 3 March 2025 at 23:59 (UTC). T&Cs apply. | |||
Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades)
Sale price available until 3 March 2025 at 23:59 (UTC). T&Cs apply.
Learning on FutureLearn
Your learning, your rules
- Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
- Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
- Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores
Join a global classroom
- Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
- Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
- Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others
Map your progress
- As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
- Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
- Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate
Want to know more about learning on FutureLearn? Using FutureLearn
Do you know someone who'd love this course? Tell them about it...
You can use the hashtag #FLbirth to talk about this course on social media.
More courses you might like
Learners who joined this course have also enjoyed these courses.
Browse more in Politics & Society
