Population Dynamics (305-0-20)
Instructors
Christine Marie Percheski
1812 Chicago Avenue, Rm. 208
Professor Christine Percheski (PhD, Princeton University) is an associate professor in Sociology and a faculty fellow at the Institute for Policy Research. Professor Percheski is enthusiastic about teaching courses on families, demography, gender, health, and research methods. Her research considers how changes in women and men¿s employment and family life have affected social and economic inequalities in the United States and other industrialized countries.
Meeting Info
University Hall 122: Mon, Wed 2:00PM - 3:20PM
Overview of class
This course provides an overview of how human populations change through mortality, fertility, and migration. This year, we will give special attention to how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted mortality, fertility, and migration in the US and globally. Students will learn key concepts from the field of demography and be introduced to cutting-edge demographic research related to health disparities in the United States, the impact of HIV/AIDS on family life and longevity in Africa, migration patterns within and from Latin America, the reasons behind sex-selective abortions in Asia, and the implications of the current low birthrates in Europe.
Learning Objectives
Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to 1) define demography and describe the key features of demographic transitions; 2) use key concepts related to population structures to describe a population; 3) explain how COVID-19 has impacted population dynamics around the globe; 4) understand how mortality and fertility have changed over the past two centuries and vary across countries; 5) interpret tables and figures with demographic data; and 6) identify how demographic change in the United States and around the globe is relevant to contemporary public policy debates.
Evaluation Method
Class participation, weekly assignments, exams
Class Materials (Required)
Demography: The Study of Human Population, 4th edition. 2015. Lundquist, Anderton, and Yaukey. ISBN: 978-1-4786-1306-0
(There will also be readings available electronically.)
Class Attributes
Social and Behavioral Science Foundational Discipl
Global Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity
Social & Behavioral Sciences Distro Area