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Semester 1

Social Demography (SCIL10097)

Subject

Sociology

College

CAHSS

Credits

20

Normal Year Taken

3

Delivery Session Year

2023/2024

Pre-requisites

Visiting students must have completed at least 2 Social Science courses (i.e. Sociology, Politics, Social Policy, Social Anthropology, African Studies, American Studies, Gender/Queer Studies) at grade B or above. We will only consider University/College level courses. Visiting Students should have also previously completed an introductory quantitative methods course.

Course Summary

This course is an introduction to the social scientific study of human populations, including their size, composition, and components of change (mortality, fertility, and migration) in a global perspective. We will discuss questions such as: - How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected life expectancy around the world? - Why has the average number of children per woman declined to very low levels in some countries, but not in others? - What are the causes and consequences of population ageing? - To what extent does immigration change the population composition of a country? This course combines theoretical foundations with hands-on activities. The theories covered include the Demographic Transition and Second Demographic Transition; the compression and expansion of morbidity hypotheses; and migrant fertility assimilation. In the lectures, you will engage with current debates about the validity of these theories, using examples from countries around the world. In the workshops, you will learn how to calculate and interpret the main indicators used by demographers, such as Life Expectancy at birth and the Total Fertility Rate.

Course Description

By the end of this course, students will understand the fundamental concepts of Social Demography, and will be able to apply basic demographic tools to By the end of this course, students will understand the fundamental concepts of Social Demography, and will be able to apply basic demographic tools to real-world data. The course contents include: - The Demographic Transition theory and how it can be used to understand mortality and fertility change across world regions - Health and mortality: theories and debates (e.g., compression vs. expansion of morbidity) and measures (e.g., life expectancy, lifespan inequality) - Union formation and fertility: theories and debates (e.g., the Second Demographic Transition) and measures (e.g., age at first marriage and fertility rates) - Population ageing: theories and debates (e.g., crowding in vs. crowding out of government and family support to older adults) and measures (e.g., old-age dependency and support ratios) - Migration: theories and debates (e.g., migrant fertility assimilation) and measures (e.g., net migration rates). In the lectures, students will learn about the main theories and concepts in Social Demography, and engage with current debates about the validity of existing demographic theories for explaining population change around the world. In the seminars, students will learn how to calculate and interpret demographic indicators to understand real-world population data.

Assessment Information

Written Exam 0%, Coursework 100%, Practical Exam 0%

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