Demography and Health in Euras

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Juris Doctor, Undergraduate

The objective of the course is to familiarize students with health and demographic issues and trends in the countries of the Eurasian, Russian, and East European region. Emphasis in the course will be on developments during the post-Soviet period, on situating these issues within a broader social, economic, historical, political, and cultural context, and on understanding how they have benefited or constrained development and reform in countries across the region. The course starts with a brief introduction to basic health and demographic concepts. This is followed by a review of the demographic history of the USSR and Eastern Europe. Students are then given an introduction to sources of health and demographic data on the countries in the region. Following this are sections on each of the components of population change in the region – fertility, morbidity, mortality, and migration -- along with domestic and international policies and programs that have attempted to address those changes. Russia’s impact as a colonial power will be examined, as will global and regional aid and partnership programs involving Russia and other countries in the region, and of course the seismic impact of Russia's war on Ukraine. The format of the course is a combination of lecture, case studies of actual health and demographic issues taken from the region (including in-class workshops), guest lectures by authors of some of the assigned reading for the course, and discussion. A research paper is required on a health or demographic issue from the region, and there will be two take-home examinations. Knowledge of one of the languages of the region is desirable but not mandatory. No prior knowledge of health or demography is required.