Social Demography

Catalog description

The objective of this course is to provide a conceptual overview and technical tool-kit for studying population issues and public policies. What is a demographic perspective? And how can it be applied usefully to important domestic and international policy issues of the day (e.g., housing segregation, health and retirement, labor mobility and immigration, and above- and below-replacement fertility, school projections, etc.). The course will introduce students to various demographic data sources (e.g., decennial census and periodic fertility surveys), conventional measures (e.g., fertility rates and measures of poverty/inequality), and conventional demographic techniques (e.g., life tables, rate standardization, and population forecasting) used in social demography. For the most part, the course places the emphasis on the appropriate application of demographic tools and on scientifically-sound interpretations.