Demography - American Sociological Association

Course Texts
1. Sociology 231 Coursepack
2. William Frey with Cheryl L. First. Investigating Change in the American Society.
Wadsworth Publishing. 1997 (bundled with DOS diskette). Available at Ulrichs.
3. Mary M. Kent et al. First Glimpses from the 2000 US Census. Population Reference
Bureau, 2001.
Course Topics
A. The Structure of Demographic Change
1. Introduction
2. The baby boom cohorts
3. Effects of cohort size
4. Effects of cohort history
B. Immigration and Ethnic Diversity
C. Changes in Racial Inequality
D. Changes in Income Inequality
E. Marriage, Divorce, and Cohabitation
F. Household Structure and Poverty
G. Changes in Women's Roles
H. Industrial Restructuring and the Labor Force
Course Readings
Note: Readings are in coursepack except as follows
(ICAS) denotes Investigating Change in American Society.
A. The Structure of Demographic Change
1. Introduction
Landon Y. Jones. Great Expectations: America and the Baby Boom Generation New York:
Coward, McCann and Geoghegan, 1980, "Introduction: The Pig and the Python."
2. The baby boom cohort
ICAS -Topic One (read text and Key Concepts, do not do exercises)
Louise B. Russell. The Baby Boom Generation and the Economy Washington, DC: The
Brookings Institution, 1982, pp. 1-20.
Leon F. Bouvier and Carol J. DeVita. "Demographic Impacts of the Baby Boom on America's
Future." Population Bulletin, Population Reference Bureau, November 1991, pp. 10-13.
Jones. Great Expectations, Chapter 2, "The Procreation Ethic."
3. Effects of cohort size
Frey. America By the Numbers New York: The New Press, 2001, pp. 1-9.
Ben Wattenberg. "Shrinking Birth Rate Leaves Fewer People to Pick Up Tab." (Newspaper
article)
U.S. Department of Education. “The Baby Boom Echo Continues,” Available at
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/bbecho98/part1.html. Browse Date: 6/20/02.
4. Effects of cohort history
Jones. Great Expectations, Chapter 6, "The Archipelago of Youth" Chapter 7, "The Vietnam
Generation."
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