Demography - American Sociological Association

INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN POPULATION
Nancy Riley, Bowdoin College
Course Objectives
This course will introduce students to the study of human populations from a sociological
perspective. The course will deal only very superficially with demographic methods and I
assume no previous training in statistics. We will begin by examining the processes of population
change and then will examine the consequences of population change and on the reasons for
demographic change. We will read a number of classic and more recent readings from the
population field, as well as some of the central critiques of population research and policies.
Required Books and Readings
The following are available in the college bookstore:
SOC222 Coursepack: Contains nearly all required articles for course.
World Population Data Sheet
PRB Bulletin: World Population, Beyond Six Billion.
Furedi, Frank. 1997. Population and Development. St. Martins Press.
Emecheta, Buchi (1979). The Joys of Motherhood. NY: George Braziller.
Croll, Elisabeth. 2000. Endangered Daughters: Discrimination and Development in Asia.
Routledge.
Kolata, Gina. 2001. Flu : The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for
the Virus That Caused It. Touchstone Books.
Course Requirements and Grading
1. Three short country-focused assignments: worth 5%, 5%, and 15%
2. Two demographic methods assignments : 5% each
3. Three exams: worth 20% (midterm) and 20% (final)
4. Short paper on population policy: 15%
5. Class participation and short assignments: 10%
Schedule and Reading Assignments
Week 1 (30 August): Introductions
Week 2 (4, 6 Sept): Studying Population
Reading:
PRB: World Population Beyond Six Billion
Furedi, Chapters 1,2
Recommended: *Massey, Douglas S. 1996. “The age of extremes: concentrated affluence and
poverty in the twenty-first century,” Demography 33 (4):395-428 (Nov).
Video: Six Billion and Beyond
Week 3 (11,13 Sept): Measuring Population Change
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