Time Schedule:
B Teerawichitchainan
SOC 331
Seattle Campus
Population growth and distribution, population composition, population theory, urbanization. Determinants and consequences of fertility and mortality trends and migration in economically developed and underdeveloped areas.
Class description
This course provides an overview of how social factors can influence population characteristics and how the characteristics of population in turn affect society. We will focus on three primary demographic processes: mortality, fertility, and migration. We will learn basic concepts, theories, and measurement of each process using both historical and comparative approaches. We will apply these basic demographic concepts to contemporary population issues such as family demography and life chances, urban transition, and economic development. In doing so, we will draw upon examples from economically developed as well as less developed countries around the world. We will also examine how the demographic perspective can better inform social and governmental policies such as family planning, AIDS, and immigration.
Questions we will explore include:
o What is “population explosion” and will the world’s population stabilize? What are the socioeconomic and environmental consequences of unequal population growth?
o Why are so many people facing hunger and starvation despite technological advances in food production?
o How does the social status of women affect their and their children’s mortality rates in different societies?
o Why are couples choosing to have fewer children? How are these choices shaped by the societies in which they live?
o Do the United States immigration policies work as they are intended in controlling immigration?
Student learning goals
General method of instruction
Lectures, Discussion, Films
Recommended preparation
Class assignments and grading
Short exams, in-class assignments, leading reading assignments, final group project
Performance on exams, class participation, final project, leading discussions
