Population: Cultural Controls in Differing Contexts
Elmer Beal Jr. - Instructor

Course Syllabus

What is suggested by much of the anthropological literature and other population histories is that families have, likely, always made a calculation of the cost of rearing children and have planned accordingly. To the extent that we can, we would like to know how that calculation was made and what steps were taken to limit the number of children each family had. Further, we are interested in the roles of both the family and the group in defining the family size norms and the values and social control mechanisms employed to push for the norms.

We know that human fertility is great enough to have pressured families in virtually all epochs of history to find ways to limit it. The principal limits to fertility for humans are cultural; i.e., learned and transmitted through whatever kind of knowledge the group is able to accumulate. Different strategies for limiting population growth also have costs associated with them, for example, trauma to the mother to end unwanted pregnancy must be considered very costly, whereas use of condoms to prevent conception may be considerably less costly, provided that condoms are legal, available, affordable and socially acceptable. Consequently, nearly all cultures have sought a variety of mechanisms for limiting population growth whereby the cost is lower in some way than that of other available methods, the new method is usually rapidly embraced.

We will try to become acquainted with every known method that humans have employed to limit population growth, try to calculate their relative "cost," to different culture groups, and try to understand what kinds of pressures existed or exist to press for a particular family size norm. We will also look at how the norms are attained - whether by individual decisions or by the exercise of some kind of group authority. In this pursuit, we will also consider factors which have been known to pressure for large family sizes, as well as small.

During the first five weeks, students will read a broad history of population, cultural mechanisms which have attempted to limit it, and how the variables of environment and technology act to exacerbate or mitigate the need for controls. Since an independent project is expected at the end of the term, students will be trying to develop a focus through the text reading, readings from the reserve shelf, preliminary catalogue searches and by talking with the instructor.

Initial readings are from Marvin Harris' Cannibals and Kings. Readings should be completed by the date they appear on the schedule.

College of the Atlantic; 105 Eden St. Bar Harbor, ME, 04609
Phone: 207-288-5015 Fax: 207-288-4126
Admission: 1-800-528-0025

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